A Rose Among Thorns
by SiriuslyinLovewithSirius
Summary: Lily, Dorcas, Alice and the Marauders are in for their final and craziest Hogwarts year! Will the love, drama, heartbreak, death and teen angst they share bring them together or drive them apart? JP/LE SB/OC
1. head boy and head girl

**AN: **Hey everyone! So here's the first story I have decided to try out! Marauder-Era is my favourite time period, so I thought it would be easiest to write! I have some ideas for this story that will hopefully work, so let me know how you feel about it! This chapter is just the beginning, so forgive me if it starts rather slow. Read & Review xxx

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter. Although I wouldn't mind owning Sirius Black for a while.**

Lily Evans dashed as fast as was possible on the crowded platform, pushing her trolley in front of her. Her eyes narrowed in on a solid brick wall, and she carefully manoeuvred her trolley to face it. Without breaking pace, Lily charged towards the wall and ran straight through it.

Looking around, Lily sighed in relief as she noticed the red steam engine whistling at a standstill several feet in front of her. Glancing at the large clock on the wall, she noticed it was ten fifty-eight. Wheeling her trolley forward, she grabbed an end of her trunk and attempted to heave it onto the train.

"Evans my dear, you seem as if you're in need of a knight in shining armour!" A voice called behind her, and before she had time to groan, a hand shot out and immediately pulled her trunk off the trolley.

Pushing her trunk easily onto the train, James Potter turned back around, positively beaming.

"How was your summer, my dear Evans?" He asked eagerly, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

"Wonderful, seeing as you weren't around," Lily snarled, shoving past him and clamouring onto the train as the whistle trilled.

James hopped on behind her, and the Hogwarts Express slowly travelled away from the platform, gaining speed as it went.

"Your words, they wound me Evans," James said, placing a hand over his heart. Lily rolled her eyes and grabbed an end of her trunk.

"Go away, Potter," she huffed, marching down the train searching for her friends' compartment.

To Lily's annoyance, James trailed after her as she continued down the train, peeking into each compartment. Choosing to completely ignore him, rather than give in and start a fight in the middle of the train, Lily pulled her trunk along, finally finding her friends' compartment.

"Lily!"

Two girls immediately hopped up from their seats and rushed towards Lily, hugging her with such force that she nearly fell over.

"Guys, relax!" Lily said, laughing. "Give me room to breathe!"

Lily's two best friends released her and stepped back, grinning widely. Alice Prewett stood on the left, her brown hair resting at her shoulders, her blue eyes sparkling merrily. She was shorter than Lily, and had an extremely bubbly personality, which rubbed off on people she spent time with. Dorcas Meadowes stood next to her, her long blonde hair cascading down her back. Her deep brown eyes shone with mystery and amusement. She was taller than both Lily and Alice, and had the air of a girl who loved to have a good time.

Lily grinned back at her friends and was about to launch into several stories about her summer, when someone behind her cleared their throat. Turning, Lily noticed that James hadn't yet left her alone, and was watching her with a smirk that meant he was definitely up to trouble.

"Haven't you bothered me enough for one day, Potter?" Lily sighed, rubbing her temple.

"I'm afraid I have not, Evans, my love," James replied cheerfully, reaching into his jeans pocket. "You see, I have something here that should be of great interest to you."

James withdrew a shiny badge from his jeans pocket and showed it to Lily. "Looks like we'll be seeing much more of each other, Evans, as I am Head Boy and if my sources are correct, you are Head Girl!"

Lily gaped at the badge he was waving in front of her face. It took a moment for her to collect herself, but when she did she simply smirked at James and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Nice try, Potter. You almost had me there. Who did you take the badge from? Remus?"

James shook his head, looking at Lily with a mixture of pity and humour.

"You know how I hate to disappoint you, Evans, but alas, it is I who is Head Boy. No pranks this time. You can even see the letter for yourself." James whipped a letter out of his pocket and thrust it in Lily's hand.

Lily scanned the letter quickly, her eyes narrowing after each line she read. Behind her, Alice and Dorcas eyed one another nervously. This could not end well.

"You're actually Head Boy?" Lily asked stiffly, raising her eyes from the letter.

"That I am," James replied, smiling widely. "And if I do recall, we are meant to host a prefect meeting soon. We wouldn't want to be late!"

Lily's hands immediately balled into fists, crumpling the letter she was still holding. Pink patches were appearing on her cheeks and her green eyes were bright with rage.

James knew this look all too well. It was the look Lily got right before she hexed him, or punched him, or yelled at him until she was hoarse. He would never admit it to her, but this look scared him to death.

"Er, well, you three take a moment to catch up and, uh, I'll just meet you in there, yeah?" James stammered, taking a step back. Lily didn't say anything but continued to glare, until James slowly backed away and practically ran down the train to the prefect's compartment.

Immediately, Dorcas and Alice grabbed Lily's arms and gently sat her down in one of the seats, each sitting on either side.

"Lily, honey, chill out, okay? It's not so bad, really," Dorcas said quickly, glancing at Alice for help.

"Yeah, seriously, James has been getting better these past few months, right? He was practically civil before summer started." Alice stated seriously.

Lily focused on her friends, finally finding her voice. "James Potter is _not_ civil! He is an arrogant egotistical toe-rag and I _loathe_ him! How could he have been made Head Boy? _How_?! He wasn't even a prefect! Dumbledore has gone nutters if he honestly thinks _Potter_ is capable of this sort of commitment. How could this happen to me?!"

Dorcas and Alice nodded sympathetically, knowing that to agree silently would be much easier than trying to give their opinions. They watched Lily carefully as she glared out the window, taking deep breaths.

"Lils, I know James is a prat. But you have been dreaming of being Head Girl since first year. Don't let him ruin it. Just go in there and get through your meeting quickly. We can figure the rest out after," Dorcas said, standing up and pulling Lily up with her.

Lily nodded. "Your right. I'll get through this meeting and we'll deal with the bumbling idiot later."

Alice and Dorcas glanced at one another again, both silently agreeing that the 'bumbling idiot' could only be James.

"Good luck," Alice called as Lily pulled on her robes, fastened her badge onto them and stepped out of the compartment.

"Ten Galleons one of them is killed before the meetings out." Dorcas said, shaking her money bag with a grin.

"The odds are too high to take that bet."

* * *

Lily pushed the door of the prefect's compartment open wide and marched in, taking calming breaths and refusing to meet James' eye. She smiled at the prefect's seated, and nodded encouragingly to Remus Lupin, who was swinging his head back and forth to look between her and James anxiously.

Remus was one of James' best friends, as hard as that was for Lily to believe, and the only one of his friends that she could stand. James and Remus, along with Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, called themselves the Marauders, and all four were best friends. Lily personally found them to be utterly intolerable, aside from Remus, and had never understood why he was friends with the others. She had gotten to know Remus rather well, as they had both been prefects for the past two years, and she always found him to be gentle, intelligent and engaging. She could not say the same for his friends.

Clearing her throat, Lily moved to stand on the same side of the compartment as James, though as far away from him as possible. She pretended not to notice all the nudges, smirks and wide-eyed looks the prefect's were sharing with one another; it was common knowledge that Lily hated James and that James loved Lily.

"Hello, everyone!" Lily called brightly, glancing around at them all. "My name is Lily Evans and I will be Head Girl for this year at Hogwarts! We've got a great year ahead of us but I thought I'd start by –," Lily stopped mid-sentence and glared at James, who had cleared his throat loudly and was looking at her expectantly.

"Do you have something to say, Potter?" Lily asked through gritted teeth, resisting the urge to grab her wand out of her pocket.

"Well, my dear Head Girl, you forgot to introduce the Head Boy for this year! I'll do the honours, shall I?" James said, smiling jovially. He turned towards the bemused prefects with his arms spread wide.

"My name is James Potter, but you all already know that, of course," he said, beaming. "Believe it or not, I'll be Head Boy this year! In case any of you are feeling any confusion, yes I will be working with Lily, and yes, this will be the year that she agrees to go out with me."

Lily's hands clenched into fists and she snarled at James. Remus buried his face in his hands and the other prefects glanced at one another awkwardly, unsure whether to laugh or run.

"Would that be all, Potter?" Lily practically spat, forcing herself to keep her cool.

"I love you. That will be all," James said quickly, folding his hands behind his back and grinning at the prefects.

Lily took a deep breath and continued, forcing herself to be calm. "As I was saying, I thought we would start by passing out the timetables, which will determine when everyone's rounds will take place. After you've received a timetable, come up to James or me and we will give you the password to your House common room."

After the students filed up and received their timetable and common room password, Lily went over the basic responsibilities of prefects and explained when and where they would meet each week.

"That's about all there is to say," Lily finished, smiling at the prefects. "I know we can make this an excellent year for everyone, and we have a great group of prefects to help us out. Patrol the hallways for a few minutes, and then you can return to your compartments."

The prefects filed out until it was just Lily, James and Remus left in the compartment. Lily glanced up and, sending a withering glare at James, she stalked out of the compartment, eager to put as much distance between herself and James as was possible.

James sighed and sank into one of the chairs, shaking his head. Remus sat down across from him silently.

"I thought I was okay today, wasn't I Moony? Why was Evans so angry? I didn't make any conceited comments, or ask her out, or anything!"

Remus sighed. "Well, James, you did start off the meeting by saying you loved her…" he trailed off, torn between amusement and exasperation.

James nodded. "Truth," he replied.

"Even so, Lily has disliked you pretty much since first year. I think you need to cool off a bit, give her some space," Remus reasoned.

"How is that possible? She's Head Girl and I'm Head Boy! I reckon my best chance is to just go and ask her right now if she'll go out with me – "

Remus interrupted him, looking alarmed. "James, don't you know anything about Lily? She won't say yes, not now! She's been turning you down for four years and on top of all that, you've just been made Head Boy, which was a big shock for her. Please, just show Lily that you're not arrogant, egotistical, conceited, immature and stubborn. Because that's how she sees you. Don't you want to win her over?"

James groaned and rubbed his eyes wearily. "Yes, of course I do! I'm not as bad as she thinks I am, not even close!" He shot a pleading look toward Remus, who looked back sternly. "Alright, alright. You're probably right anyway. I'll hold off a bit on 'Operation Win over Evans'."

Remus smiled. "Good. Oh, and maybe a good place to start would be to stop calling her 'Evans'. She does have a name you know."

James nodded. "Lily. Got it."

Remus stood up and made toward the door, James following. The two made their way toward the end of the train, and entered the last compartment on the left. Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew were seated on either side of the window. Their heads were lolled against the window, both sleeping deeply.

"If only they were like this all the time," Remus said with mock sadness. James grinned and walked over to Sirius, sitting beside him.

"OY, PADFOOT!"

Sirius gave a bark-like shout, and next second had whipped out his wand. Before anyone could react, James was hanging upside down by his ankle, roaring with laughter. Peter, who had also been startled awake, glanced around confusedly, and then grinned as he put together what had just happened

"Prongs, you git! I was having an excellent dream! That curvy Hufflepuff with the curly hair and I were in a broom closet! And we hadn't even gotten to the good part! I didn't get to see how it ends!" Sirius growled.

"You know how it ends, that happened last June," James pointed out, still chuckling. Sirius tilted his head to the side, deep in thought for a moment, then broke out into a grin.

"Ah, so it did. Can't believe that one nearly slipped my mind." Sirius waved his wand lazily and James crashed to the ground.

James picked himself off the floor and flopped down in the seat next to Sirius.

"So, full moon in a few days. What's the plan for this month, eh?" Sirius asked eagerly, rubbing his hands together.

James quickly suggested several ideas for the group's night, and Peter agreed quickly with all of them, even throwing in a few suggestions of his own.

"I love Moony's time of the month, always a great time," James said excitedly. "Only, let's not break so many rules this time, yeah? Only I'm Head Boy and all…" James trailed off, trying to think of some way for the Marauders to have a fun full moon without breaking rules. It didn't seem possible.

"Mate, you're an unregistered Animagi. Even if we break a bunch of school rules, none of them will be as bad as that," Sirius pointed out

"Yeah, you know, that makes sense!" James agreed, nodding.

"Your logic astounds me," Remus piped up, rolling his eyes at Peter, who laughed.

"Moony, we've never been caught before, and anyway Padfoot is right. If I'm caught, they won't be focusing on the _school_ rules I've broken. They'll be focusing on the illegal Animagi part. It makes sense, see," James said, as if explaining something simple to a child.

Remus bit back a retort and shook his head warily.

"It's going to be a long year," he muttered to Peter, who nodded in agreement, grinning broadly at the idea.


	2. first name

**A.N** - So here's the second chapter. It's a bit slow as well, just sort of lining everything up for the story, but there will be much more Lily/James interaction in the next chapter, and also, I'm hoping, some more Remus and Peter. I'll try and update as quickly as possible and really get the story under way. Let me know what you think!

**Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns Harry Potter and, sadly, I am not her.**

The Hogwarts Express chugged to a standstill at the station in Hogsmeade village. Lily, Dorcas and Alice exited the train eagerly, excited for their final year of school to start. Lily was laughing and joking with Dorcas and Alice, when she spotted James, waving jovially to her beside Sirius, Remus and Peter. She glanced swiftly away from him, looking irritated.

Alice and Dorcas looked over their shoulder to see what had annoyed Lily, although they needn't have bothered. They both knew all too well that only James Potter could cause that amount of irritation to their best friend.

"Ah, Lily. Cheer up! You'll be working beside him all year, you know," Alice reminded her. "It's a new year, our last year at that. Can't you two be civil?"

Lily sniffed indignantly. "I am perfectly civil. Unfortunately, that is not a word you will find in Potter's vocabulary."

Dorcas and Alice stared pointedly at her, their eyebrows raised. Lily sighed. "All right, fine. I'll be _civil_ towards Potter. But that's all he's getting. And so help me, if he asks me out I reserve the right to hex his socks off."

Dorcas and Alice beamed at her. "Look how much our Lily-flower is growing up," Dorcas said, pretending to wipe a tear from her eye. "Promising to be civil to our very own James Potter. I'm just so proud!"

Alice stifled a laugh as Lily glared at Dorcas. Dorcas winked, causing even Lily to crack a smile. It was just impossible to stay mad at Dorcas for long.

After a tedious carriage ride ("Can't these things go any faster, I'm starving!"), the girl's were facing Hogwarts, their home away from home for the past six years. They hurried up the stone steps with the rest of their classmates, and walked through the entrance hall into the Great Hall.

Lily looked up, as she did every time she walked into the Great Hall, to admire the enchanted ceiling. Tonight there were hundreds of stars across the ceiling, glowing brightly against the inky black sky. Taking their seats at the Gryffindor table, the girls looked around eagerly, waiting for the first years to enter.

"Miss Evans?"

Lily spun around in her seat to face Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts. Although many students found Professor McGonagall to be much too strict, Lily had always loved her.

"Miss Evans, Professor Dumbledore would like a word with you before the feast begins," Professor McGonagall said in her crisp voice. "He's just outside in the entrance hall with Mr Potter, if you would be so kind as to see him at once."

"Of course, Professor," Lily said, and, with a bemused glance at Alice and Dorcas, Lily stood and made her way towards the entrance hall.

Standing just beside the marble staircase, and looking more serious than Lily had every seen either of them look, were Professor Dumbledore and James. They both turned as they heard her footsteps, but James made no frantic gestures towards her, or anything other than a small smile.

"Miss Evans, I have just been speaking with Mr Potter here about something I feel the both of you should be informed about. Being our Heads this year, I look to you both to help me enforce some safety policies this year," Dumbledore said, staring down his crooked nose at the pair of them.

"As you both know, Lord Voldemort has been gaining supporters for the past few years now. It's been kept rather quiet these past years, but this summer saw some serious attacks. There have been several attacks on Muggles and Muggleborns, some ending in deaths. The Ministry has been trying to gloss this over, but I feel the two of you need to know what we're up against. While I highly doubt Voldemort would attempt an attack on the school, we must always be on our guard."

Lily and James nodded forcefully. Lily felt a twinge of panic at how serious things seemed to have gotten. Over the past few years, talk of Voldemort had been circling throughout the school, but nothing had ever been proven. It seemed Voldemort was posing a bigger threat than Lily had expected.

"Alert the prefects of the danger. I press on you the seriousness of the matter, in hopes that you will help them to stay on their guard. Do not allow prefects to patrol alone – groups of twos and threes, no less. Students caught out of bed will be given detentions, to enforce no night-time excursions." At this, Dumbledore turned his sparkling blue eyes on James, and the shadow of a smile was visible behind his beard.

"We understand, professor," Lily said, as James nodded beside her.

"Excellent, excellent. Now, then, let us go and enjoy the start of term feast! Off you go," Dumbledore waved them away as he swept into the Great Hall, taking his seat in the middle of the long High Table.

Lily and James walked silently into the Great Hall, James sitting beside Remus and Lily making her way over to Alice and Dorcas. She had missed the Sorting, but Lily hardly registered that fact as she filled her friends in on what Dumbledore had said.

"Wow, I guess this Voldemort is more than a bunch of rumours," Dorcas said, looking strained. Alice gazed fearfully at her friends, and they all seemed to be thinking the same thing. Would Voldemort continue to gain more power and supporters?

* * *

James hurried down to breakfast the next morning, Sirius galloping beside him. They had woken up late as usual, and needed to get their timetables from Professor McGonagall before the bell rang.

Hurtling through the doorway of the Great Hall, James wasn't paying any attention to his surroundings, and smacked into something very solid. James fell to the ground, and rubbing his head, looked around to see what he had run into. Lily was smack on the ground in front of him, glaring at him angrily.

"You do have eyes for a reason, Potter," she growled, getting to her feet and smoothing out her skirt. James staggered to his feet as well, looking sheepish.

"Sorry, Lily, but I need to get my timetable from Minnie before the bell rings," James said apologetically. "See you in class!"

Lily stared open-mouthed as James raced towards the High table, conversing happily with a tight-lipped Professor McGonagall.

"Good Heavens, what did James do now? You look like Sirius did when he found out there was no Santa Clause," Dorcas snickered from behind Lily, Alice and Frank beside her.

"I remember when you told him that, Dorcas. I never thought I'd see Sirius crying – in sixth year mind you," Frank Longbottom, Alice's boyfriend said, chuckling.

Lily turned towards the three, closing her mouth. "He – well, I can't imagine why, but he…" Lily frowned, confused.

"He what?" Alice, Frank and Dorcas chorused.

"Erm, well, he called me 'Lily'," Lily muttered. "It's just strange; he's never called me it before."

"Good gracious James Potter is being courteous," Alice gasped, shaking her head in disbelief. "I never thought I'd see the day."

"I never thought _I'd_ see the day when James Potter had Lily staring at him. He _is_ making progress, isn't he?" Dorcas snorted, trying to keep a straight face.

"Oh, shut up," Lily snapped, grabbing Dorcas' timetable to examine it, and sighing heavily. "Almost all the same classes, I see, well that's just rotten luck."

Dorcas laughed and put her arm around Lily. "Alice too, Lils. You have to admit, class just wouldn't be the same without us, would it?"

Lily laughed. "No, it definitely would not. I might learn a thing or two without you two yapping beside me. Now let's get to Potions before Slughorn gives us all detention for being late on the first day back."

The girls waved goodbye to Frank, who was on his way to Transfiguration, and then made their way to the dungeon, where Potions class took place. Taking three seats near the back, the girls pulled out their _Advanced-Potions Making_ textbooks, chatting happily. Professor Slughorn was at the front of the class, waving his wand lazily as words appeared across the blackboard.

Just as the bell rang, Lily heard muttering and shuffling behind her. Turning around, Lily saw Remus, Sirius and James pulling their books out and taking the seats directly behind Lily, Dorcas and Alice. Lily turned around quickly, groaning in annoyance.

"Just our luck, these dimwits somehow managed to stay in NEWT potions," Lily grumbled, causing the other two girls to stifle their laughter.

Lily heard James say, "Padfoot, mate, I think Lily just called us dimwits!"

Lily sighed and was about to turn around and spit back a scathing reply, when Slughorn began the lesson.

Behind her, James and Remus were having a quiet argument.

"Moony, how will I know if I'm making progress if I don't ask her out?" James whined, staring at the mass of dark red hair directly in front of him longingly.

"James, it's been less than a day! For Merlin's sake, just give it some time. Couldn't you start by being _friends_ with her?" Remus whispered back, frantically scribbling down the notes Slughorn had written on the blackboard.

"Friends?! Have you gone mad, Moony? I _love_ her, I couldn't just be friends with her!" James said, sounding outraged.

Remus hushed him and said quickly, "I just meant at first, Prongs. Better friends than her hating you, right?"

James shrugged, pouting. Beside him, Sirius looked deep in thought, something that rarely occurred.

"Alright there, Padfoot?" James asked, noticing the look on Sirius' face.

"I was just thinking –" Sirius began.

"For once."

Sirius glared. "I was just thinking that there are eleven seventh year girls and there are only three I have not met up with in a broom closet. Alice, obviously, because she and Frank have been dating since fourth year; Lily obviously, because Prongs is an obsessed git-" James rolled his eyes at this. "And Dorcas Meadowes."

"First of all, Sirius, there's fourteen seventh year girls," Remus said, shaking his head.

Sirius waved a hand impatiently. "I don't count Slytherins!" He said indignantly. "And besides, you're missing the point!" Sirius pointed at the back of Dorcas' head, who was seated right in front of him.

James and Remus stared at him nonplussed.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Honestly, and we say Moony is the smart one. I mean, why is it that I've never been with Dorcas?"

Remus banged his head on the table and James stared pityingly at Sirius. Sirius stared between the two, looking completely confused.

"Because, Padfoot, she would never do anything with you," James said, patting Sirius on the shoulder and grinning. "Bit out of your league, mate."

"She is not!" Sirius said crossly. "I can get any girl I want!"

"Yeah, but Dorcas can get any guy she wants," James pointed out. "And besides, Lily is her best friend. Clearly Dorcas doesn't have a very high opinion of you if her best friend hates you."

Suddenly there was a clamour around them as students paired off to attempt the potion Slughorn had assigned for today; Blood-replenishing potion. Before James or Remus could say anything, Sirius had hopped off his stool and marched up to Dorcas. Remus groaned but James hushed him, eager to see what would happen.

Dorcas had just been about to see if there was anyone in the class she wouldn't mind pairing with, as Alice and Lily partnered together, when a shadow fell across her desk. Looking up, she looked into the eyes of Sirius Black, who was smirking confidently at her.

"Meadowes," he acknowledged, flopping down in a seat beside her.

"Black," she replied, watching him curiously.

"Well, I reckon we better get going on this potion. It looks like it takes a while," Sirius said, leaning over so he could read off Dorcas' potion book. Dorcas shivered slightly as his arm brushed hers and she moved away from him.

Feeling utterly bewildered, Dorcas glanced over to Alice and Lily. They were staring between her and Sirius, looking just as confused as Dorcas felt.

"I'll go get the ingredients, could you heat up the cauldron, love?" Sirius said, his breath blowing gently on Dorcas' ear. She nodded, prodding underneath her cauldron with her wand while he leapt up to fetch the ingredients.

Dorcas was completely puzzled as to why Sirius seemed so eager to pair up with her. After all, they weren't exactly friends; it would be rather impossible considering he was best friends with James and she best friends with Lily.

Before she could ponder this any further, Sirius had returned, his arms full of different ingredients. The Blood-replenishing potion was dull work; it was a lot of grinding up ingredients, and stirring for several minutes.

"Meadowes, you're grinding the Billywig stings up wrong."

Sirius leaned over and wrapped his hand around Dorcas'. He turned their hands sharply, pushing down. After a few moments, the Billywig stings ground into a fine powder.

"Thanks," Dorcas muttered, pushing her blonde hair out of her eyes. She squinted at the book, and then dumped all of the ground up Billywig stings into the cauldron. Immediately, the potion turned a deep green and began hissing.

"Oh crap!" Dorcas muttered, as smoke began emitting from the cauldron. She glanced down at her book to see what she had done wrong, when all of a sudden, the potion sprayed all over her, Sirius and their table.

Sirius, who had been messing around with James, yelped as green, sticky potion drenched him from head to foot. He glanced up, dazed, and saw Dorcas standing by their cauldron sheepishly.

"Merlin, I'm so sorry, Sirius! I wasn't paying attention, I put too much of the Billywig stings in and…" Dorcas trailed off as Slughorn appeared beside her.

"What's happened here?" He asked sternly, glaring at Dorcas. Dorcas began to mumble an explanation when Sirius cut across her.

"It's my fault, Professor. I told Dorcas to add more Billywig Stings than she should have. I must have read the directions wrong."

"Hmm," Slughorn said, while Dorcas stared in amazement at Sirius. Sure, getting in trouble was nothing new to Sirius Black, but why would he waste his time helping her out?

"Well, Mr Black, be sure to read extra carefully next time you're concocting a potion in my classroom. You and Miss Meadowes should go up to the hospital wing and get Madam Pomfrey to clear that off, it could be tricky."

Sirius nodded and grabbed Dorcas' hand, who was still looking shocked. As they marched out of the dungeon room Dorcas finally found her voice.

"Thanks for that," she murmured as they climbed a flight of stairs.

"Don't mention it," Sirius replied. "I thought you were smart, Meadowes. How could you possibly mess up something as simple as Blood-replenishing potion?"

Dorcas opened her mouth angrily, but closed it when she glanced up and noticed he was trying to hide a smirk. Looking at him, Dorcas noticed that almost all of his silky, raven black, pride and joy hair was covered in slimy green potion. Observing the rest of him, she noticed that his clothes were also completely drenched in the green mixture. He looked absolutely absurd. Unable to help it, Dorcas let out a giggle, which she quickly tried to stifle.

Sirius glanced at her, one eyebrow arched.

"Sorry," she said, grinning. "It's just, you look absolutely ridiculous!" She laughed.

Sirius grinned at her. "You look pretty ridiculous yourself. So help me, Meadowes, I'll kill you if Pomfrey can't get this out of my hair."

"Dorcas," Dorcas said to him.

"What?" He asked.

"You can call me Dorcas, I do have a first name, you know," Dorcas said, smirking.

"Well I do too Me-Dorcas."

"Good to know, Sirius."

They had reached the hospital wing, and as Sirius threw the door open, smiling at Dorcas, they heard a shriek.

"What the devil were you two doing, covered in green slime?!" Madam Pomfrey stormed, rushing over and pulling them both inside.

Sirius explained hastily what had happened as Madam Pomfrey stared at him, lips pursed.

"Very well, Mr Black. You get behind that curtain there, Miss Meadowes, you to the one on the left. Hopefully we can get this off you two."


	3. a losing battle

**A.N** – Okay so here's the next chapter! Hope you all like it! Thanks so much to kkroonie, who is my only reviewer right now, but who will hopefully be helpful throughout the rest of this story! Not much interaction between Dorcas and Sirius in this chapter, I know. Sorry about that! But I wanted to get some James/Lily in there, and Sirius and Dorcas will hopefully be very entertaining in the next chapter! Read and Review! xxx

**Disclaimer: I still don't own this. Let's just make this the disclaimer for the rest of the story, yeah?**

An hour later, Sirius and Dorcas left the hospital wing, wincing slightly and rubbing their pink faces. Madam Pomfrey had scrubbed away the last of the potion, but had done so with a severe speech about how serious potion accidents can be, and how the students of today were much too careless.

They walked in silence towards their Charms classroom, both unsure of what to say. Before either of them could think of a way to break the rather awkward silence, the voice of Professor Flitwick could be heard, and soon enough they were entering the classroom, heads bowed. Professor Flitwick tutted as they walked in late, but continued on with his lecture.

"See you later, Dorcas," Sirius muttered as they parted ways. Dorcas nodded and scurried to her regular seat beside Lily in the middle of the classroom as Sirius took his regular spot next to James and behind Remus, in the back of the class.

"Blimey, Padfoot looks clean for the first time in his life. I expect they made him bathe," James observed, peering intently at Sirius. Sirius scowled.

"I'm much cleaner than you, you filthy git. How do you think I keep my hair so silky smooth?"

Remus turned around in his seat to frown at the two. "You're missing the lesson, you know," he said in a hushed voice.

"Of course we know, but we also know you will give us the notes, so pipe down Moony, and get to writing!" Sirius chided, flapping his hand at Remus. Remus rolled his eyes and put his quill down, arms folded.

"Actually, Sirius, I don't quite feel like taking notes today. Let's see how you fair without my help, for once."

Sirius looked worried for a moment, then grinned as he tapped Peter on the shoulder, who was seated beside Remus.

"Hey, Wormtail. Copy these notes down for me, will ya?" Sirius asked, his eyes wide and pleading.

Peter groaned at him. "Sirius, will you ever do your own work?" Sirius sent him a disbelieving look and Peter sighed. "Fine, but only because I need them too. So stop distracting me if you want me to get them down."

Sirius grinned impishly at Remus, who looked exasperated. "You will go to any lengths to not do work," Remus said, trying not to be amused by his friend's antics.

"Never mind that, I want to hear what happened with Dorcas? Get her in a broom closet yet, Sirius?" James asked, smirking as though he doubted it.

Sirius stopped grinning. "No, Prongs, alas I did not. However, that wasn't my intention. Dorcas needs to be handled differently. I don't think she would agree to an evening romp with the famous Sirius Black. Best to gain her trust first; then I make my move," Sirius said solemnly.

"So you're going to lull her into a false sense of trust, and then shag her and be done with it?" Remus asked incredulously. "Haven't you thought at all of how she will feel about that?"

Sirius shrugged. "Not really."

Remus glared at him.

"Oh, come on Moony! She won't mind! It's not like I'd _force_ her to. She would be more than willing. And I really want her," Sirius whined, glancing over to the blonde head that was bent as Dorcas scribbled away on her parchment.

Remus sighed, looking speechless. Peter turned around in his chair and piped up, "I'm in Muggle Studies with Dorcas, you know. She sits right in front of me and I always hear what she's saying to Alice. I'll help you out with her, Padfoot!"

Sirius beamed. "Wormtail, I knew we kept you around for a reason! When do you have muggle studies?"

"After lunch," Peter said quickly, eager for praise.

"Right then, find out as much as you can about her, alright?"

Peter nodded excitedly as Remus shook his head beside him. Suddenly, Sirius frowned at Peter.

"Hey, get back to those notes. I have to pass my NEWTS you know, Wormtail."

Peter swivelled around quickly and began scrawling down the notes, as Sirius leaned back in his chair with his arms behind his head. Remus sent him a disapproving glare, which Sirius returned with a shrug.

"Ah, Prongs. Soon enough, Dorcas will be mine." Sirius sighed happily.

James grinned at him. "I'll sooner win over Lily, Padfoot. I think you're fighting a losing battle."

"From what I've seen between you and Evans for the past six years, I'm not the only one, mate."

* * *

As the bell rang, signalling the end of Charms class, Dorcas, Alice and Lily gathered their books and swept toward the Great Hall for lunch. Because of Lily's need for quiet while taking notes, Dorcas had been saved from the bombardment of questions she was sure were to come. However, sitting down at the Gryffindor table, shovelling shepherd's pie onto their plate, Dorcas knew it couldn't be avoided for much longer.

"So, what's up between you and Sirius," Lily finally asked Dorcas, acting as if she was hardly interested, though her eyes burned with curiosity.

Dorcas sighed. "Nothing at all. I suppose he wanted to be partners in Potions because James and Remus were working together, and he didn't want to be stuck with a Slytherin. As for me exploding our potion over us, well that was hardly an act of passion."

Alice grinned at her. "Well, I couldn't help but notice he was helping you grind those Billywig stings for quite a while there…"

"So now you're bringing my incompetent grinding skills into this. I hardly think that can be misconstrued as anything other than him also noticing my inability." Dorcas rolled her eyes. "Besides you two, he's _Sirius Black_. I may like to have fun, but that boy is definitely even more than _I_ could handle. He seems nice enough, but there's nothing there, trust me."

Alice looked convinced but Lily was looking calculating. Dorcas waited for her to say whatever it was she was thinking.

"Alright, that makes sense enough to me, Dorcas. But I will kill you myself if your new 'friend' Black is around us more than usual. I can admit that he is much worse than James Potter ever could dream of being."

Alice beamed at Lily. "Progress on the James Potter front, hmm?" She asked sweetly.

Lily glared at her silently, and continued eating her pie. Dorcas and Alice laughed and as the bell rang, they marched towards Muggle Studies as Lily climbed the marble staircase up to Arithmancy.

Dorcas and Alice settled into their regular spots; second from the back and farthest left as possible. They both found Muggle Studies to be an absolute bore, but it was easy enough to get by with Lily explaining everything they needed to know. Both being pure-blood, Lily had insisted they take the class to 'broaden their understanding of the way Muggles get by without magic'.

The girls hardly noticed Peter Pettigrew, who didn't seem half as loud and obnoxious without the other Marauders around, as he took his regular seat behind them, next to a sandy-haired Ravenclaw that neither of them knew by name.

As Professor Burbage began the lesson, Alice leaned over and murmured, "so I _know_ there's nothing going on with Sirius, but aren't you at all curious as to why he partnered with you? Come on, when have James and Sirius ever not been partners? It's usually Remus who partners with one of us."

"I've no idea, Alice. Maybe James realized his marks were dwindling with Sirius as a partner, and finally had the brains to partner with the only smart one of their group," Dorcas retorted, writing down the steps taken to use a telephone.

"This would make sense, if Sirius hadn't gotten an Exceeds Expectations OWL in potions."

"Well, maybe they drew straws to see who would have to partner with me, and Sirius got the short one," Dorcas said with a grin.

Alice rolled her eyes. "I'm just saying, Dorcas, you ought to be careful. If Sirius Black has you in his sights, you're in for a lot of trouble."

Dorcas frowned. "I've been in Sirius' classes for six years now, and he's never tried anything. I highly doubt he would start now." Seeing the unconvinced look on Alice's face Dorcas added, "Besides, I'm not completely daft. Sirius Black has a better chance of dating a Slytherin than he does of wooing me."

* * *

"She _said_ that?!" Sirius asked outraged. The Marauders had convened in their dormitory before dinner, and Peter was filling Sirius in on what Dorcas and Alice had been saying in Muggle Studies.

"So mate, looks like it's only the Slytherins left now." James said, grinning broadly. Sirius glowered at him.

"Why would they think I'm trouble though?" Sirius pouted.

"Let's see," Remus said mockingly, scratching his head. "I'm sure it has nothing to do with all of the detentions you've received, breaking every school record in history. I'm sure it also has nothing to do with the fact that you've never set foot in the library unless accompanied by a girl, in which case everyone was fairly certain no studying was going on. It also _couldn't_ have to do with the number of girls you've boasted about being with, or the number of girls that, for reasons unbeknownst to me, continue to follow you throughout the day, sighing and giggling. Also –"

"Thanks, Moony, I get it," Sirius snapped. "Still, everyone knows girls make stuff up about me. It's not _all _true." Sirius grinned. "Alright, most of it's true. But still! How could Dorcas think I would be like that with her?"

"Mate, you're planning on being like that with her," James pointed out.

"Technicalities," Sirius said impatiently. "This is going to be harder than I thought. But I suppose that is half the fun. Although if there's no chance it really is disheartening…" Sirius trailed off, muttering to himself.

Remus shook his head sadly as James rolled his eyes. Peter watched Sirius frantically, hoping that his information would be helpful.

Finally, Sirius broke out into a wide smile and clapped his hands together. "I have the answer! I'll just prove to Dorcas that I'm not really like that!"

The other boys stared at Sirius blankly.

"Something wrong?" Sirius asked politely, still smiling.

"Well, Padfoot, you _are_ really like that. How're you going to prove you're not a lazy, useless, selfish, playboy man-whore when really you are?" James asked.

"You'll just have to wait and see," Sirius said in a sing-song voice.

Remus sighed heavily. "Let's just go down to dinner now, shall we? We have a prefect's meeting after dinner, James, so we'll have to eat quickly."

"Ah, crap, I knew I was forgetting something. Stupid prefect's meeting," James grumbled as they stepped out of their dormitory and made their way to the common room. Catching sight of Remus' frown James added hurriedly, "I mean, I just can't wait for the prefect's meeting tonight! Gee it's fun to be Head Boy!"

Remus chuckled. "That's the spirit."

* * *

After a hurried dinner, Remus and James made their way towards a room off the Entrance Hall, where the prefect's meeting was being held. Lily was already there, but no one else had arrived yet. There were 20 chairs all facing the front of the room, where two larger chairs were placed. Remus took one of the 20 chairs in the front as James plopped down in one of the larger chairs beside Lily.

"So, Potter, just to fill you in before –" Lily began but was cut off by James.

"James," he said solemnly.

"Excuse me?" Lily asked, looking irritated at being cut off.

"Call me James. We're working together, so we might as well get used to it." James shrugged.

Lily eyed him shrewdly, expecting to see some sign of an ulterior motive. She must not have found any, because she replied, "Alright then, James. As I was saying, I'll just fill you in on what we're discussing today at the meeting, just so we both understand what the meeting is all about."

"We're going to tell the prefects what Dumbledore said about Voldemort being a bigger threat than we thought. Then we're going to tell them to really crack down on students wandering around at night, because we can't be too careful at these times. We're going to tell them they must patrol in groups of twos and threes, and no one should ever patrol alone. Then we're going to assign them partners to patrol with." James said promptly. "Right?" He asked nervously, as Lily stared at him.

"Yes…that's right. Okay, perfect. Well, we'll just wait until everyone shows up, and then we can begin."

James started whistling idly, glancing around the room while he waited for the prefect's to join them. Lily, however, was sitting quite still, completely thunderstruck. James Potter had not made one wrong move all day, and it was really starting to freak her out. Why wasn't he being incessantly annoying, or asking her out every other hour? And how the bloody hell did he know what they were going to be discussing at today's meeting? Had he _actually_ paid attention when Dumbledore had spoken to them? Lily was so wrapped up in these thoughts she barely registered that the rest of the prefects had assembled, until James stood up to greet them.

The prefect meeting passed smoothly, with Lily and James taking it in turn to speak, and both of them stressing the seriousness of the situation. They then passed around the list of patrol partners they had come up with, just to make sure everyone was in agreement. Finally, the prefect's were filing out of the room and Lily and James were sorting through their papers.

Lily watched James curiously out of the corner of her eye as he filed his papers in a neat order, keeping them in order according to the dates he would need them. She had been observing him throughout the meeting, and she couldn't believe how different he had seemed to her. She felt like she hadn't even known James, and found herself wondering how this could be the same boy that was constantly grating on her nerves.

As James thrust his papers into his bag and made his way towards the door, giving Lily a wave goodbye, she suddenly made up her mind to speak with him.

"Wait," she said quickly, shoving her own papers into her bag and walking towards him.

James turned around, surprise etched on his face. Lily took a deep breath and asked, "What the hell is up with you?"

James' surprise turned to shock. "What?"

Lily blushed, realizing how horribly that came out. "Well I just mean, why are you acting so different? You're being so…so, un-Potter-ish. Why?" She demanded.

James smirked. "Lily, I told you I had gotten more mature these past years. And I could always be perfectly civil, as hard as that may be to believe. You're just too much fun to tease. And asking you out properly never seemed to work so…" James shrugged. "I just sort of, winged it."

"Winged it," Lily repeated faintly, seeming dazed. When had she ever seen James Potter acting like he hadn't been brought up by wolves? Shaking her head Lily asked, "So, just like that, you're not the same arrogant, egotistical toe-rag that I've ever had the misfortune of meeting?"

"Of course not, I'm still exactly like that!" James said grinning. His grin faltered as she glowered at him and he backtracked quickly. "It's just, we're going to be working together throughout the whole year. I figure we're going to have to be friends if we both want to finish this year alive."

"Friends?" Lily asked, still shell-shocked. James nodded.

Lily mulled that thought over, and decided it really was for the best.

"You know, if we're going to be friends, we have to just be friends," she said slowly, hoping James would understand.

James nodded again, glad a conversation between he and Lily had lasted this long without the use of curse words and wands.

"So…you won't be able to ask me out anymore, of course. After all, we're friends. And friends don't ask one another out. Otherwise, they wouldn't be friends, you see?"

James' smile faltered slightly as he understood what she meant. He tried to think of a way to backtrack, without her shouting at him, but her eyes were narrowing, as if expecting him to be just like she had always thought. Before he knew what he was saying, James blurted out, "Of course, Lily. We're just friends now." He put a hand to his heart. "I promise I'll never ask you out again."

Lily smiled. "That's fine with me. I'll see you tomorrow Pot – er – James."

Lily slipped out of the doorway and James watched her go, wondering how the bloody hell he was going to fix this one.


	4. uncomfortable friendships

**A.N : So I actually suck, because this has taken a long time to update! Sorry! This chapter is short, and sort of building on things, but it is going to start getting more exciting! I've already started the next chapter so updates should be much faster! R&R!**

"Wait, what?!" Dorcas shrieked. She, Lily and Alice were seated in the Great Hall eating breakfast. Lily had just explained what had happened between her and James at the meeting last night.

Several people looked around curiously while Lily shushed Dorcas impatiently.

"For Merlin's sake, Dorcas, relax! It's not a big deal, really –" Lily began but was cut off by Alice, who was staring at her with huge eyes.

"Not a big deal?! Lils, you're _seriously_ telling us that you and James are _friends_?! Just like that?"

"Well, I mean, he caught me rather off guard –" Lily tried again, glancing around frantically and hoping against hope her friends would stop shouting.

"I can't believe this, I can't believe this," Dorcas muttered wildly, looking around as though waiting for someone to tell her everyone had been playing some sort of cruel joke on her. "Wow. James Potter and Lily Evans. Friends. Wow."

Lily groaned. "I suppose I should have broken the news to the two of you in _private_," she muttered with gritted teeth.

"That might have helped," Alice agreed in a lower tone, finally noticing the amount of students that were watching the three girls peculiarly.

"I just don't understand, Lils. I mean, we knew you never _hated_ him, per say, but still, friends…" Dorcas trailed off, still looking shell-shocked.

"As long as Potter isn't asking me out, and driving me crazy with incessant love poems and declarations, then I can deal with him," Lily said loftily.

Dorcas and Alice shook their heads. "Wow." Dorcas repeated, finally starting on her cold breakfast.

Further down the table the Marauder's were seated, casting furtive looks at the girls.

"They seemed rather surprised, judging by those shrieks," Sirius smirked.

James' eyes narrowed. "It's not _that_ surprising," he muttered.

"Please, my arse still hurts from falling off my chair when I heard," Sirius retorted. "Friends with Lily Evans, I ask you."

James glowered at him and opened his mouth to retort when Remus spoke.

"For Merlin's sake you two, give it a rest," he mumbled, resting his head on his arm. The other three boys glanced over at him warily.

"How are you feelin' Moony?" James asked concernedly. "Full moon tonight, you can't be feeling very well."

Remus just groaned into his arm. The other three boys glanced at each worriedly.

"Moony just skip out of class all day," Sirius said easily, shovelling eggs into his mouth. "You get the day off, Wormtail takes your notes for you, and we meet you in the shack before you know it!"

Remus lifted his head slowly, glaring at Sirius. "Keep your voice down!" He hissed, looking around quickly to make sure no one had heard.

"Relax, Moony, no one's listening," Peter piped up, looking sympathetic. "Padfoot's right, take the day off, it's not like you haven't done it before."

Remus sighed and pushed himself away from the table. "I s'pose you guys are right. I'll see you tonight," he added in a whisper, as he made his way out of the Great Hall and up to his warm dormitory. There he would wait for Madam Pomfrey to lead him to the Shrieking Shack, where he would be transforming that evening.

The three boys watched him go anxiously. Remus was always rather snappish with them around the time of the full moon, but the day of it was always the worst; it was odd for them to see Remus looking weak and tired, as he always did when the full moon approached.

"Bloody hell, we've got to get to Charms!" Sirius yelped, glancing at his watch and hastily slinging his bag over his shoulder.

"Padfoot, we have fifteen minutes before Charms starts," James said, looking puzzled. Since when had Sirius ever wanted to go to a class at all, let alone show up early?

"I know that," Sirius said, pulling James by his arm to force him out of his seat. "But how will I get a seat by Dorcas if I don't get there in time?"

James rolled his eyes at Sirius, but Peter squeaked, "Let's go, Lily, Alice and Dorcas look like they're getting ready to leave too!"

At this, Sirius bounded out of the Great Hall, Peter scuttling after him and James trailing behind, muttering about not wanting to be this early for class at all.

Sirius was the first to enter the Charms classroom, causing Professor Flitwick to tumble off the pile of books he usually stood on in shock. Sirius frowned and surveyed the tables in front of him while Peter skidded to a halt beside him and Flitwick peered at them over his desk, eyes wide with surprise.

"Where do you reckon?" Sirius murmured, raking his eyes along the back of the classroom. He knew Dorcas was as serious about taking notes as Remus, so maybe not in the back, but Sirius certainly could not be caught sitting in the front. He cringed at the thought of sitting in the front of any class.

Just as Sirius concluded he should choose a seat in the middle, to accommodate them both, James walked in saying loudly, "Get a move on Padfoot! Only your girl is just coming up the hall…" He trailed off, grinning wickedly.

"Shut it, you," Sirius glowered, plopping himself into a seat in the middle, and motioning for Peter and James to sit in their usual seats.

Finally, Dorcas, Alice and Lily entered the classroom, laughing together and making their way towards their regular seats. Lily was the first to notice that Sirius, oddly enough, was sitting by himself, and not in the back with the other Marauders. She muttered something which caused Dorcas' head to snap up and her eyes to widen, focusing on Sirius. Dorcas shrugged nonchalantly, but Sirius could have sworn he saw a faint blush tinge her cheeks when they had made eye contact.

"Oy, Dorcas!" Sirius said loudly, waving his arm wildly. He heard James and Peter laughing behind him, causing Sirius to immediately put his hand down and stop waving it around like a lunatic.

Dorcas glanced up again, looking surprised. "Yes?" She answered, puzzled.

"Come sit by me, love." Sirius said, winking cheerfully and patting the chair beside him.

Dorcas' eyes got, if possible, wider. Alice and Lily, already in their regular seats, immediately bent their heads and began whispering fervently. Dorcas glanced back at them, then up at Sirius, torn.

"Scared of me, Meadowes?" Sirius asked slyly, wagging his eyebrows.

Dorcas rolled her eyes, and next thing she knew, had marched towards Sirius and taken the seat beside him.

"As if," she replied as the rest of the students filled the seats around them.

Charms was one of the best classes to have conversations in, because it was almost always a practical class. Today they were practicing vanishing larger objects than they had done before.

"Do you mind telling me why you aren't seated by your best friends for the first time in almost seven years?" Dorcas asked, breaking the silence that had settled over the two, as they concentrated on vanishing the rather large books Professor Flitwick had given them.

"I didn't want you to be without a partner today," Sirius replied, eyes wide with innocence. "Without Moony here, there's an odd number of Marauders and an odd number of Gryffindor girls. So I thought I'd save us the trouble," Sirius winked again.

"Alright," Dorcas said slowly, finding this response to be innocent enough. The pair settled back into silence as they attempted to vanish their assigned objects.

"I wonder," Sirius murmured in a low voice, "What would happen if I tried this vanishing spell on your skirt?"

Dorcas' jaw dropped, but she quickly pulled herself together as he glanced up to see her expression. She noticed he seemed disappointed when he saw her looking nonplussed.

"I'd cheerfully castrate you," Dorcas responded, smiling widely.

Sirius flinched slightly at the calm way she said that – as if it wasn't something to put past her.

"Perhaps you'd vanish it for me yourself some time, then?" Sirius asked, regaining his husky voice, and leaning closer to Dorcas.

Dorcas felt electricity shoot up her arm as he grazed it with his own, but she swiftly pulled her arm back.

"Perhaps you'd give up, because that's never going to happen," she snapped, sounding angrier than she would have thought. She really hated that Sirius Black could affect her with his husky voice and gorgeous looks, like she was just another of his fan girls swooning over him.

Sirius was grinning and Dorcas wondered whether he could tell he was getting under her skin.

"If you say so, love," Sirius said in a low voice, flicking his wand and causing his book to vanish entirely.

"I do," Dorcas said firmly, flicking her wand at her book, vanishing all but the spine.

"Doesn't mean we can't still be friends, though," Sirius said, casually vanishing the rest of Dorcas' book.

"I could have gotten that," Dorcas growled, "And since when does Sirius Black have friends who are girls?"

Sirius shrugged and leaned forward, his mouth right next to her ear. "Since now, I suppose." Dorcas leaned away, her heart racing.

"Okay," she mumbled, attempting to subtly move her chair away from him. Judging by his smirk, she wasn't very subtle at all.

Meanwhile, Lily and Alice were talking animatedly, trying to understand what had gotten into Sirius.

"I mean, sitting by her and everything, that's something you don't see every day," Alice mused, ignoring the book she was meant to be vanishing and watching as Sirius stared at Dorcas intently, who avoided his gaze.

"Sirius knows Dorcas would never go for him. She's too clever – not like those stupid girls who throw themselves at him. I expect he likes the chase. Well, that's all he's going to get with her." Lily said knowingly, vanishing her book on her first try.

"You might be right, but she looks a little flustered, being that close to him," Alice said, grinning broadly.

"Of course she does, it's Dorcas were talking about. She loves boys, more than I'll ever understand." Lily rolled her eyes, thinking of her friend's previous relations. "She knows exactly what Sirius is like though, and I doubt she would ever go as far as that."

Before Alice could respond, a piece of paper fluttered over Lily's head, and landed on her desk in front of her. Eyes immediately narrowed in suspicion, Lily unfolded the letter and read it quickly.

_Lily,_

_Can't patrol tonight – Remus is sick and I have to look after him. You know what Sirius and Peter are like; if I left them to it Remus would be killed. DON'T patrol alone, pair up with another group. I'll be back for patrolling tomorrow, sorry for backing out._

_James_

Lily stifled a laugh at his worry and then, catching Alice's eye, rolled her eyes.

"Stop looking at me like I've lost my mind. It's James, he can't patrol tonight." Lily thrust the letter at Alice, while tearing her own piece of parchment to reply to James.

_James_

_I certainly know what your friends are like, spare Remus and keep him company tonight. I'll patrol with Millington and Terrence, so stop your worrying._

_Lily_

Lily had to admit, as she aimed her balled up note at James, that it was rather odd to think of him as "James" and not "Potter". Still, he had been true to his word all morning about not asking her out, and so she decided he was right – if they were going to be working together they might as well be friends.

"I reckon you're losing it," Alice declared, passing the note back to Lily. "James Potter just sent you a note in class and you _laughed_. I'm frightened, honestly."

Lily made an impatient noise. "If you'd like I can go back to hating him with every fibre of my being. I mean, he still _refuses_ to stop messing up his bloody hair, as if he looks good like that. Also, his friends are absolute _morons_ –"

"Okay, okay, I prefer the uncomfortable friendship," Alice cut across her, putting her hands over her ears. "Trust me, I've heard enough about James' faults to last me a lifetime."

Before Lily could reply, the bell had rung and James and Peter had raced out of the classroom, Sirius close behind.

Lily and Alice got to their feet and fell into stride with Dorcas, who appeared beside them.

"What the hell does that git want?" Dorcas stormed the second they had exited the classroom. "I mean, what could he possibly see in me now, that he didn't see in the past six years? And how could he be arrogant enough to believe I _want_ him in any way at all? Ha! As if! Bloody jerk."

"You know, you sound just like Lily whenever she is whining about James. Although, Lily doesn't do that anymore, now that they're friends. For example, when he passed her a note in class today, she _laughed._ The two of you have lost your marbles," Alice said, shaking her head.

"You laughed, Lils? What the bloody hell! Twenty-four hours ago you would have hexed his balls off. What has happened to everyone this year? Why are we all becoming so _friendly _all of a sudden! And you just _know_ by friends he means he wants to shag me senseless, and he's just trying to lure me into a false sense of security, and you know what, I reckon James isn't much better, I mean birds of a feather and all that…" Dorcas muttered this all very quickly, running her hand anxiously through her hair like she always did when she was stressed.

"Scratch that, I reckon it's just _Dorcas_ who's really lost her marbles," Alice whispered to Lily, who looked alarmed at her friend's behaviour, and nodded in agreement with Alice.

**A.N : If you've ever "lost your marbles" over a guy, say "I" :) **


	5. werewolf theories

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A.N: So here's the next chapter. I got it up the second I finished to make up for the long wait between chapters 3 and 4. Stuff will be moving more quickly throughout the story now, and I will have a new chapter up at least once a week. Reviews would be helpful, even if you just want to say you like it, or you absolutely hate it! R&R!

That night, Lily waved goodbye to Alice, who was writing her Muggle Studies essay and Dorcas, who was twisting her hair around her wand, muttering about 'arrogant boys' and 'everyone being friends all of a sudden' as she set off to patrol.

Lily scrambled out of the portrait hole and met up with Rachel Terrence of Ravenclaw and Kristen Millington of Hufflepuff. The three girls greeted one another brightly, and then set off along the main floor, checking in empty classrooms and broom closets for anyone out of bed.

An hour later the girls had seen no one roaming the halls except Frank Longbottom, who waved to them merrily and offered them some of the pastries he had nicked from the kitchen. This did nothing to prevent Lily from taking five points from Hufflepuff and ordering him to go back to the common room.

"It seems to be all clear tonight," Rachel said, stifling a yawn. "I'm exhausted; shall we head back to our common rooms?"

Lily and Kristen murmured in agreement and they set off on their separate ways to return to their own common rooms.

As Lily passed a large window overlooking the grounds, she happened to glance down, and saw quite an odd sight. Pawing the ground anxiously was a huge, magnificent stag. It was snorting, and its head was swinging around wildly, as though it was looking for something. Lily watched as a huge black dog raced towards the stag and barked loudly.

Lily's forehead creased with confusion as the dog and stag stared at each other, seeming to be communicating something. The stag was snorting and moving its head around, after which the dog would reply with short barks. She had never seen animals act like this. As she watched, she heard something that made goose pimples shoot up her arms. A loud howl echoed across the grounds, coming from the Forbidden Forest.

Lily felt as though her blood had run cold as the dog and the stag both stared into the trees. Next second, they were hurtling into the Forbidden Forest, and were out of sight.

Lily stumbled away from the window and hurried to the common room.

"Phoenix flame," she gasped at the Fat Lady, who swung forwards immediately.

Dorcas and Alice were sitting in two arm chairs by the fire, clearly waiting up for Lily. Lily hurried towards them, quickly checking that no one else was in the common room.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Dorcas commented, looking worried. "What's up?"

Lily explained what she had seen through the window. "And then I heard a howl, a really loud one and the dog and the stag raced towards it."

"Okay…so there are some crazy animals around here," Alice shrugged. "I'm not sure I get what you mean, Lils."

Lily shook her head. "I mean, the howl I heard didn't sound like an ordinary wolf. Remember that paper last year that Professor Trupisky had us do? Well, according to my research, that howl wasn't the howl of a wolf." Lily's eyes widened, but neither of the other girls seemed to understand. Lily rolled her eyes. "Honestly you two, do your homework. It was the howl of a _werewolf_."

* * *

James, Sirius and Peter climbed tiredly up the winding staircase, eager for a few short hours of sleep before it was time for classes. Remus had transformed back into himself and was currently sleeping in the Shrieking Shack.

"Blimey I'm tired," Sirius groaned, as the boys trudged towards the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Wish we could miss classes tomorrow, Remus is so lucky that he gets to."

"Remus gets to because, as far as anyone else is concerned, he's the only one who stays up all night," James pointed out.

"Phoenix flame," Peter mumbled as they reached the Fat Lady. The portrait swung open and the three boys clambered inside, eager for a few short hours of rest.

After a restless three hours, the boys rose again, eyes puffy and red with tiredness, and made their way into the Great Hall. As they were late for breakfast, they quickly stuffed their faces with as much eggs and bacon as they could, before James and Sirius raced towards the dungeons for Potions and Peter raced outside for Care of Magical Creatures.

Skidding to a halt at the doorway of their Potions class, James and Sirius rushed in, slamming their books onto their desk and flopping into their seats as the bell rang. Professor Slughorn was still setting up ingredients at the front of the class, so the students took this time to talk among themselves.

James and Sirius dropped their heads onto their arms, and did not speak, grateful for the few minutes of rest.

"Lily, I know we went over this last night, but I just don't see the big deal. Werewolves live in the Forbidden Forest, don't they?"

James and Sirius' heads snapped up and they looked at one another, eyes wide.

"No, Dorcas, they don't. I asked Professor Kettleburn about it in fifth year and he told me there were no werewolves living in the Forest. He said they mainly stayed underground and _assured_ me I would never see one around Hogwarts.

"Well, he could have been wrong. I don't see how else to explain it if you say that's what you heard," Alice said, shrugging.

Lily sighed. "I know. But what about that dog and stag? It looked like they were, I don't know, communicating somehow. It was so strange. And the second they heard that howl they ran."

"Well, naturally they ran, imagine facing a werewolf?"

Lily shook her head. "They didn't run _away._ They ran towards it!"

The girls looked totally bewildered. James and Sirius were wearing expressions of horror, hoping Lily would not understand what she had seen. Before the girls could speak again, Sirius cut in.

"Couldn't help but hear your conversation," he said, trying to sound light and cheerful. James suspected he was the only one who could still see the anxiety in his eyes.

"Bet you could," Dorcas muttered, before turning around and waiting for Sirius to continue. Sirius flashed her a smile.

"There have been rumours of werewolves living in the Forest for as long as I can remember. Professor Kettleburn just didn't want you to be frightened. I reckon there're loads of them."

Lily looked unconvinced. "I don't see why he would lie to me about that, he knows perfectly well that I would never wander into the Forest, so it wouldn't frighten me to know what's in there. Anyways, I have a theory, not that it's any of your business."

Sirius looked strained. "What's your theory, then?" he asked, mouth dry.

Lily glanced around to make sure everyone was busy taking down notes and leaned in closer. "It could be someone from the _castle_. You know, a student or professor or something. It would make sense none of us knew about that specific werewolf, because they wouldn't want to be treated any differently. I've no idea who it could be, though."

It was a good thing Dorcas and Alice looked so terrified at this thought, because it merely looked as though the looks of complete horror crossing James and Sirius' faces were simply shock at the thought of an unknown werewolf living in the castle.

"I don't think that's it, Lily," James tried weakly, but Lily cut him off.

"That still doesn't explain the strange behaviour of the other animals, but I suppose I'll find it all out soon enough," she said thoughtfully.

James and Sirius exchanged alarmed glances.

"Hey, Lily, we'll patrol tonight in the dungeons, yeah?" James asked quickly, hurrying to change the subject.

"Okay," Lily said absently, looking deep in thought.

James and Sirius glanced at each other again. "Should we tell Moony about this?" James asked in a whisper.

Sirius shook his head fervently. "Nah, she doesn't know anything yet, best not to worry him."

The rest of double potions passed fairly quickly, with Sirius flirting outrageously with Dorcas, who pretended not to hear him, even though her eyes kept darting back to him. James was feeling very worried about Lily coming so close to finding out the truth about Remus, and he spent the whole rest of the day fretting.

"Prongs, chill out, she won't link that howl to Moony," Sirius whispered bracingly at dinner, while winking at Dorcas, who had just happened to glance at him from down the table.

Dorcas blushed lightly and flipped him off, smirking.

"She wants me," Sirius declared, digging into his steak and kidney pie.

"Mate, didn't you hear Peter the other day? She thinks your trouble," James said exasperatedly.

"I know, but she still wants me. She just doesn't _want_ to want me, see?"

James rolled his eyes. "Thanks for clearing that up, Padfoot."

Sirius ignored this. "What about you and Evans, huh? How's the friendship going?" He asked, smirking.

James groaned. "The friendship is great. She glares at me now and then, but I haven't been insulted in the past two days. As long as I don't ask her out, she seems perfectly civil."

"And this is a bad thing?" Sirius asked, confused by James' forlorn expression.

"Well it can't be a good thing, Padfoot. She _likes_ being friends. But I want us to be so much more. And I promised not to ask her out ever again." James rubbed his face angrily. "It's just not going how I planned."

Sirius looked at his best friend sympathetically. "Just give it time, Prongsie. It's only been two days. Once she is warmed up to you, you make your move. It's just like me and Dorcas." At this Sirius put on a dreamy look. "Soon enough we'll be in a broom closet, becoming the best of friends."

James had to laugh at this. "But I thought she didn't want to want you? How do you plan on working around that?"

"Same way you will, mate. Make her want to want me."

* * *

Later that evening, James and Lily were walking slowly around the dungeons, peering in classrooms and dark areas for any students out of bed. So far, they had been walking in silence, but when James had commented on this being their last year of Hogwarts, a conversation had started.

"I just don't want to leave here with any regrets," Lily sighed, shining her lit wand into a corner to verify that no one was hiding there. "I want to do everything I want while I still have the chance. Once we're out of here we're in the real world, where Voldemort is gaining power. I don't want to wish I had done things differently when I'd had the chance."

James felt such a rush of affection for the young woman beside him that it was all he could do to not grab her hand right at this moment and declare his love for her. After all, he didn't want to leave Hogwarts with regrets, either. And if he didn't do all he could to win over Lily Evans, it would be the biggest regret of his life. As she looked up at him, however, he remembered his promise, and quickly swallowed his declaration of love.

"I don't want to have regrets, either. I mean, this is the last year we can really be kids. Next year we're on our own, starting a life. Everything is going to be different."

Lily felt a soft spot she would have never believed she had for James Potter in that instant. He was going through everything she was, as difficult as that was to believe. He was frightened of the future, too. For one of the first times, Lily saw the difference between the James who incessantly asked her out, and the James that only his closest friends saw.

She couldn't deny either that he looked pretty hot when viewed in this light.

Lily brushed that thought away quickly, turning her head so he wouldn't notice her blush. Lily had, of course, noticed that James was very good-looking; any girl with eyes could tell you the same thing. Good looks were not enough to attract Lily's attention, however. After all, she was perfectly aware that Sirius Black was hotter than any model she had seen in her Muggle magazines, but that didn't make him any less annoying, arrogant or womanizing.

"I've been thinking of ways to make this the best year ever," Lily said, trying to change the subject quickly.

"Anything come to mind?" James asked, seeming eager.

Lily felt her enthusiasm grow as she saw the anticipation in James' eyes.

"Well I did have one. It's sort of lame, so don't laugh, but I was thinking we could have a dance, or ball of some sorts, for the older years."

"That doesn't sound lame," said James, smiling and using a kind voice Lily had never heard him use before. She had to admit, she liked this side of him.

"Well, I was thinking it could be a masquerade ball, and we could have it in the Great Hall on Christmas Day for fourth years and up," she said excitedly.

"What do you want to have a masquerade ball for? Why not just a regular ball?" James asked curiously.

"A masquerade would be so much fun! I have wanted to go to one ever since I saw "The Phantom of the Opera"," Lily gushed.

"There's going to be phantoms?!" James asked, looking more excited by the idea. Lily stared at him.

"No…It's a play. You know, Andrew Lloyd Weber?"

James shook his head, looking confused once again. Lily sighed.

"Never mind, I just thought it might be a fun idea. You're technically not supposed to know who is who at a masquerade, it would be so interesting! But if you would prefer, we could just have a regular ball."

"No!" James said hurriedly, seeing the disappointment in Lily's face. "I like this idea! Honest! I just think it would be better if there were actual phantoms," he teased, grinning.

Lily smacked his arm playfully. "There will _not_ be phantoms. But you really think it would be a good idea? You're not just saying that?"

James would have probably preferred to split a few bottles of firewhiskey between himself and the Marauders, watch Peter try to fight the biggest guy he could find, Remus flirt outrageously with girls he wouldn't have the nerve to talk to in a sober mindset and tell Lily he loved her. However, as this had been a regular occurrence on almost all weekends last year, Lily's idea sounded like a great way to spend Christmas.

"Of course I really think it's a good idea. It's a great idea! My parents used to drag me to balls all the time, but I reckon this one would be much more fun than a room full of stuffy, snobbish purebloods refusing to dance."

Lily laughed at that, feeling much more excited about the idea. "First thing tomorrow I'll pitch the idea to Dumbledore," she said happily.

"We'll pitch the idea," James corrected. "I've got some ideas of my own, including spiking the punch."

Lily sighed. "Same old James Potter," she grumbled, but James noticed she was smiling slightly as she said it.

* * *

Dorcas was lying on her stomach on the floor of the common room finishing her Defence Against the Dark Arts essay. Alice had gone off with Frank for the evening and Lily was patrolling with her new _friend_ James, so Dorcas was all alone.

Sucking on her quill, Dorcas stared at her parchment intently, trying to think of how she could possibly add five more inches to her essay. As she dipped her quill in ink and brought it to the parchment, a shadow fell over her parchment.

Glaring up at whoever was distracting her, Dorcas found herself staring into the eyes of Sirius.

"Hey there," Sirius greeted, plopping down beside her and lying on his stomach as well. "Whatcha doing?"

"Defence essay," Dorcas groaned, eyes drooping. She was sick and tired of homework and the last thing she wanted was deliciously gorgeous Sirius Black trying to seduce her into the nearest broom closet. Dorcas wasn't one to ignore her body's desires for a boy, but even _she_ knew that getting involved with Sirius was a bad idea. She would fall right into the category of 'obsessed fan-girl', not to mention being just another notch on Sirius' bed post.

"You seem tired. Eventful night last night?" Sirius asked, eyebrows waggling.

"Not the way you mean," Dorcas sighed. She had never been one to discourage talking about (or having) sex, but this boy brought it up more than she could ever dream of.

"Evans keeping you up with her werewolf theories, then?" Sirius asked, frowning slightly.

Dorcas nodded. "She may be right…if _I_ was a werewolf I wouldn't want the whole school knowing, that's for sure. It's just odd we've never made the connection with anyone before. Must be someone we don't know."

"Mm," Sirius agreed, glad the girls didn't seem to have made the connection to Remus yet. Attempting to change the conversation Sirius said, half-jokingly, "Well, you seem bored stiff of homework. I could help you loosen up a bit, if you'd like."

Dorcas rolled her eyes. "If that's what you're looking for, you better just go away. I'll not have anything to do with you in _that_ way, Sirius Black, so give up."

"I never give up!" Sirius said cheerfully. Dorcas glared at him.

"I noticed. And you're just _loving_ this because it's such a challenge, hmm? You need to grow up Sirius, not everything is about sex," Dorcas snapped, gathering her papers and marching off in the direction of the girl's dormitory.

Sirius watched her go, bemused. "Was it something I said?"


	6. female sirius black

**A.N: Here's the next chapter! Thanks to the last two reviewers, and to everyone reading the story even if you're not reviewing. It has a lot of hits so I'm hoping that's a good thing. I also skived off my bio homework to finish this, so I hope it was worth it! Enjoy!**

The rest of September passed without incident, unless you counted Peeves trapping a first year inside one of the suits of armour, and Filch adding six new objects to the Banned-Items list.

October had blown in among gusty winds, and with it had come piles of homework for the seventh-years. Their NEWT year was proving to be exceptionally stressful, and many people had already been taken to Madam Pomfrey for a calming draught.

Sirius and James, though anxious themselves, had their minds far from school work. James had been working tirelessly with Lily to help plan the Masquerade Ball, after the two had run it past Dumbledore, who had deemed it an excellent idea. He also had his Head Boy duties to attend to, and his responsibility as Quidditch Captain, now that the season was almost among the castle once more.

On top of all of this, James was mainly anxious about a certain red-haired Head Girl. Over the past month, James had been extremely careful about what he said in front of Lily, being careful to not compliment her _too_ much, as she always got instantly suspicious, and being especially careful about not asking her out, as he refused to break his promise.

Sirius, who had probably never felt anxious a day in his life, was feeling anxious these past few days as well. As much as he hated to admit it, Sirius had never been turned down by a girl in his life. Of course, his flirting with Dorcas had not been hindered in any way, but her refusing to reciprocate was a bit disheartening.

"What are you pouting for?" Peter asked Sirius tiredly. They were sitting in the Great Hall eating breakfast on a Thursday morning and Sirius was frowning at the table.

"Wormy, am I ugly?" Sirius asked sadly.

Peter glanced at Remus and James, and the three burst out laughing.

"It's not funny," Sirius sniffed haughtily, folding his arms across his chest and continuing to pout.

"The biggest ego in all of Hogwarts just asked if we thought he was ugly. It is a bit funny," Remus pointed out fairly, still smiling.

"Well, there must be something wrong! Why hasn't Dorcas acknowledged my flirting? It's been a bloody month!"

Remus, James and Peter now shot Sirius sympathetic looks, which he did not entirely understand.

"Padfoot, you self-absorbed twit, haven't you noticed the blush she gets whenever you flirt with her? Or how she will flirt like crazy with any guy in this school, but clams up around you? Or flinches whenever you touch her? She wants you, mate! It's like you said last month, she just doesn't _want_ to want you," James explained.

"I thought it was something like that!" Sirius said, brightening instantly. "I just can't believe the self-control the girl has; I wouldn't have lasted three days if someone I wanted to shag was flirting with me."

"Let's face it, you were never prided on your self-control," Peter muttered, causing the other two to laugh loudly. Sirius waved that away impatiently.

"It's scary how much she's driving me nuts! She had me questioning my abilities! She had me questioning my looks!" Sirius gasped, and his hands flew to his mouth. "I can't believe that just happened."

The other three shook their heads sadly. "It's a wonder he can dress himself," Remus said to the other two.

Before Sirius could retort, Dorcas, Lily and Alice walked into the Great Hall and were making their way over to the Gryffindor table. Sirius suddenly grinned mischievously.

"Flirting plan back on," he announced, beckoning Dorcas over with one finger. Dorcas looked puzzled, but she walked over and stood in front of him, arms folded across her chest.

"What?"

Sirius smirked. "I just made you come with one finger. Imagine what I could do with my whole hand."

Dorcas' mouth dropped and she stared at him, trying to resist the urge to imagine what he _could_ do with his whole hand. Remus, Peter and James snorted into their breakfast, but stifled it quickly as Dorcas shot them a withering glare.

"You are _such_ a pig, Sirius," Dorcas said, rolling her eyes and trying to hold back a slight smirk – it would not do well for him to think he was making any progress. "Is sex _all _you ever think about? It's never going to happen I already told –" she continued, but he cut her off.

"Yeah, yeah, nothing's going to happen, I know. But we said we would be friends, yeah? And I can't just turn off my flirting ways around my friends; it's a part of who I am! Remus, James and Peter have to deal with it, so you'll have to too."

"It's true," Peter piped up. "He asked me if there was a mirror in my pants last week, because he could see himself in them."

"I frequently am told that Sirius has lost his 'tellyfone' number and then innocently asked if he could have mine instead," Remus added, looking at Sirius in disgust.

Dorcas couldn't help but laugh at that. "Why you three are friends with him, I'll never understand. If you can't control your flirting, Sirius, then fine. But it'll do you no good. I'm going back to my friends now. My _other_ friends." Dorcas marched away from the Marauders towards Lily and Alice, who were watching intently. "And get some better lines!" She shouted over her shoulder, winking at Sirius.

Sirius chuckled and grabbed a muffin from the bowl in the center of the table. "Slowly I thaw her icy exterior."

"Slowly indeed," James agreed with a smirk, earning him a slap to the back of the head from Sirius.

* * *

Dorcas seated herself between Lily and Alice and sighed loudly. They glanced over at her, both looking concerned.

"Black still annoying you to death?" Lily asked, patting Dorcas reassuringly on the arm.

Dorcas hesitated. "He told me he knows nothing will happen between us, and I-I guess he wants to be friends," Dorcas told them.

"What?!" Lily and Alice both shrieked, swinging their heads around to stare at Sirius, who waved innocently back at the pair of them.

"I know," Dorcas agreed, helping herself to some toast. "He seems to understand that there is no chance for us, so…I don't know, maybe being friends wouldn't be such a bad thing."

"Sweet Merlin," Alice said, shaking her head. "What happened to not wanting everyone to be so friendly, Dorcas? First Lily is friends with James, now you're friends with Sirius? Could this year get any weirder?"

"No," Lily and Dorcas replied simultaneously. The three girls laughed, breaking the serious tension that had been over them moments before.

"Maybe you should become friends with Remus or Peter now, Alice," Lily teased. Alice made a face.

"I've only got room in my heart for one boy, unfortunately. And that boy is Frank Longbottom," Alice replied, grinning. "Besides, knowing you two, you'll all be best friends before the month is out."

"So you're really okay with being friends with him?" Lily asked Dorcas. "I mean, just last month you were very adamant about _not_ wanting to be friendly with Sirius."

"Well, things change," Dorcas said shrugging. She saw the looks of disbelief on her best friends faces and added, "I'm _not_ going to shag him, don't worry. We all know even I'm not like that."

Lily and Alice nodded. They knew Dorcas was sensible, no matter what some people said about her. Even so, self control was not her strong suit, and they did not want their friend to be pegged as another one of Sirius Black's conquests.

"Just make sure you're careful with him," Lily warned her. "He is very smooth with girls, we've all seen it in action. Don't let him sway you."

"Thanks for the warning, mum," Dorcas joked, swigging some pumpkin juice. "But I _can_ take care of myself, you know. Now let's get to Transfiguration before Sirius can come over here and annoy me some more."

The three girls gathered their bags and made their way towards Transfiguration, picking three seats in the back, much to Lily's dismay.

"This is the only classes I really have trouble with, why are we sitting in the back?" Lily grumbled, taking a seat between Alice and Dorcas.

"Because we're in seventh-year and we can do whatever the hell we want," Dorcas said flippantly, grinning.

"Well I _want_ to learn," Lily whimpered, as the bell rang and the Marauders sprinted into the classroom, taking seats in the back as well, just a few seats away from Dorcas.

"Relax, Lils, it's one class. Besides," Dorcas added slyly, "Maybe your new pal James can help you out. After all, this is his best subject."

Lily glared at Dorcas but was unable to respond because McGonagall chose that time to begin the lesson.

Transfiguration had become increasingly difficult for the seventh-year students. Today they were practicing transfiguring inanimate objects into animals. It was difficult work, and the class was more silent than usual, as everyone was concentrating hard.

Dorcas was being uncharacteristically quiet herself, but her mind was far from Transfiguration. Shooting furtive looks at the Marauders, Dorcas couldn't stop her mind from wandering to a certain Sirius Black.

Dorcas had always been known, and well-liked, for her ability to always be fun and outgoing. She loved to have a good time, and wasn't afraid to speak her mind on just about any topic. She was fun, silly, loud, and had her fair share of 'blonde' moments. Her friends used to teasingly refer to her as the 'female Sirius Black'.

Another reason Lily and Alice teased Dorcas about being so similar to Sirius was her lack of relationships. Dorcas had been with a handful of boys, but she had never had a lasting relationship. It wasn't that Dorcas _wanted_ to sleep around; she just didn't want to get in over her head, especially with a boy. Dorcas wanted to do what she wanted, when she wanted, and she was used to her life being like that. She always complained that boyfriends just held a girl back.

Although Dorcas didn't like to talk about it, she had another reason for not wanting to be in a relationship. Dorcas had grown up with four older brothers, all of whom were serious heartbreakers. She thought she knew the male mind better than any other girl she had met, and she didn't like what she saw. Dorcas didn't want to give _anyone_ the chance to break her heart, so she always ended her 'relations' before it got too serious for her to back out without her feelings in check.

It was because of this that Dorcas felt so against hooking up with Sirius. She didn't just shag random boys whenever the need arose; Dorcas had flings with boys, but she had never yet had a simple one-night stand. To feel that she was that disposable to Sirius was not a flattering or comforting feeling, and she knew the fluttery feeling she got in her stomach whenever she thought Sirius wanted more than just one night with her was _definitely_ not good. Dorcas did not want to get in over her head with the biggest Playboy at Hogwarts, and that was where she would be headed if she gave into his advances. She also knew that being a girl who had slept with Sirius Black was a sure way to ruin one's entire reputation.

Yes, Dorcas thought, it really was for the best that they had agreed they should just be friends. After all, no matter how good-looking he was, Sirius was bad news for her.

The bell rang and Dorcas jumped, realizing she hadn't changed one object into an animal. Gathering her books up, Dorcas sauntered down the aisle towards the door, shaking her head to get rid of the confusing thoughts that had been chasing themselves around her head all class.

"Oy, Dorcas, wait up!"

Dorcas turned as Sirius bounded towards her, beaming.

"I changed James' chair into a pig within the first five minutes," he boasted, as James hobbled past, glaring at him. "Mind you, he isn't too pleased, as he fell right off the pig once it started scampering around, but I still did it!"

Dorcas laughed. "You guys are pathetic y'know that?"

"Yep!" Sirius replied giddily.

Dorcas laughed again and went to follow Lily and Alice to the other end of the Gryffindor table when Sirius grabbed her arm.

"Come sit by us today," Sirius suggested, winking. "I'd like to have some fun messing with Lily and James' new-found friendship."

Dorcas paused. "You know I should be telling you off right now, saying that Lily and James' delicate friendship is not something we should be messing with, especially because they have to work together for the rest of the year."

Sirius waited patiently, wondering if Dorcas was actually going to be angry with him.

"But, as I'd love to watch them squirm, I'm in," she finished, grinning. Dorcas hurried down the table to summon Alice and Lily over to where the Marauders were sitting, claiming she wanted to sit by the boys today.

Lily and Alice glanced at the boys suspiciously, Alice taking a seat beside Peter, who was seated next to James, Remus sitting across from Alice, with Dorcas and Sirius taking the next two seats. Lily gazed around hesitantly, then took a seat beside Sirius, across from James.

"Don't we all look so cozy and friendly," Sirius squealed excitedly, clapping his hands together. The other six stared at him incredulously and he shrugged. "Sorry for trying to bring some excitement to the table," he said, sticking his tongue out at them.

Remus shook his head, wordlessly, and the rest of them filled their plates with as much food as they could reach.

"I bet you three Galleons James looks at Lily hopelessly at least five times during lunch," Sirius whispered in Dorcas' ear. Dorcas grinned and shook his hand under the table.

"You're on. There's no way he will be that desperate in front of all of us."

"Ah, my dear Miss Meadowes, you have so much to learn. When it comes to Lily, James has no pride," Sirius said, chuckling.

And he turned out to be right. Less than fifteen minutes into lunch, Dorcas handed three Galleons over to a grinning Sirius, cursing under her breath.

"Who knew James Potter would be so smitten," Dorcas growled, as Sirius thrust her galleons into his pocket, laughing.

"What're you two laughing about over there?" Lily asked, peering around Sirius to glance at Dorcas.

"Isn't it obvious, Lils? They're being _friendly_," Alice said, laughing. Lily laughed too and even Dorcas grinned.

"I think we're missing something here," Remus said slowly, glancing between the girls.

"That must happen a lot to you guys," Dorcas said.

"Yeah, it really does," Sirius replied, shovelling chicken into his mouth. Suddenly, he paused, and glared at Dorcas. "Hey!"

The other six laughed as Sirius threw his napkin at Dorcas.

"Sorry, sorry, just pointing out the obvious," Dorcas laughed, throwing Sirius' napkin right back at him.

"That's what I love about you, Meadowes, you're ability to point out the obvious," Sirius winked, sticking his tongue out at her.

"I thought we were passed the surnames, Black?" Dorcas retorted, sticking her tongue out right back at him.

"I reserve the right to call you by your surname if ever you insult me," Sirius said, grinning.

"Oh, Sirius, I doubt you'll ever use my first name then, you just give me so much to work with."

Sirius elbowed Dorcas playfully in the ribs as she laughed and ducked away from him.

The two looked up, noticing the silence that had fallen over the other five. Everyone was staring at them.

"What?" Dorcas said uncomfortably.

"By all means, don't stop on account of us," Alice said, smirking. "Continue with the over-the-top flirting."

Sirius laughed but Dorcas turned bright red.

"We were _not_ flirting," she said heatedly.

"Well, that's sort of what it looked like," James replied innocently. "It was very entertaining, don't stop now!"

Dorcas glared at him and he grinned sheepishly.

"Er, I mean, that wasn't flirting, Alice! How preposterous," he backtracked.

"Are you always this easy?" Lily asked, laughing.

"Only one way to find out," James said, waggling his eyebrows. He quailed under Lily's glare however and said quickly, "I mean, yes, I really am always this easy."

Everyone laughed again, except Dorcas, who was eating quietly, and had carefully slid herself further away from Sirius. Lily looked round at her curiously, but Dorcas just shook her head at her.

As the bell rang, the Marauders, Lily, Alice and Dorcas made their way across the sloping lawns towards the greenhouses for double Herbology. The Hufflepuffs were already standing around the door of greenhouse five, and Alice hurried over to Frank, beaming.

"We'll be re-potting Flitterbloom plants today, chaps," Professor Sprout said as the class gathered around different tables, the Marauders choosing one at the very back and Alice, Frank, Lily and Dorcas taking the table in front of them. "They look similar to Devil's Snare but no need to worry, they're completely harmless."

"So, Lily, Alice has been telling me about your werewolf theories," Frank said, as the four of them shovelled fresh dirt into a pot, preparing it for the Flitterbloom. Behind them, a stunned Remus had dropped the pot he was holding, his mouth hanging open.

"Careful, now, Lupin," Professor Sprout said sternly, and James hastily repaired the pot and placed it back on the table.

"Well, they're just theories as of right now, and I _certainly_ wouldn't want to be spreading them, so don't mention them to anyone, alright?" Lily replied, tugging the Flitterbloom out of the old dirt and forcing it into the new pot.

"Of course not, but I have to say, it seems a little ridiculous to me. I don't see how a werewolf could have been staying in the castle with us all these years and no one has found out yet," Frank said, shrugging.

"Maybe it's a first year," Dorcas supplied, leaning away from the dirt that was spraying everywhere as the Flitterbloom tried to remain above ground.

"Maybe," Alice said thoughtfully, using her shovel to dig furiously at the dirt around the Flitterbloom. "I'm still not entirely convinced that it even _was_ a werewolf that you heard, Lils, but you're the smartest witch of our age, so you should figure it out soon enough."

Lily smiled at the compliment. "It should be fairly obvious once we're looking out for the signs. Still, I do hope I'm wrong. How horrible, to be at school and have to hide the fact that you're a werewolf."

The four continued to discuss in low voices who the supposed werewolf could be and how they could figure out who it was. Meanwhile, Remus had turned to look at the other Marauders, mouth hanging open.

"What – the – bloody – _hell_," Remus gasped, covering his face with his hands.

"Relax, Moony, she told Sirius and I her theory a few weeks ago, and she's not any closer to figuring it out, she won't –" James began, but Remus cut him off, looking alarmed.

"You _knew_ she had these theories? Why didn't you two tell me?!" He whispered furiously, glaring at them. James and Sirius recoiled from his glare.

"I-I wanted to Moony, but Padfoot said it wasn't a big deal! C'mon, she hasn't come any farther in her guesses yet," James said, glancing at Sirius for help.

"Yes, but the full moon is in two days! Don't you think she'll be keeping her eyes peeled for anyone acting strange around then?" Remus hissed, burying his face in his hands once again.

"Moony, it'll be okay," Sirius said quietly, looking uncharacteristically sombre. "We'll stage it all in the common room tonight; you can get an urgent letter from home saying your mum is sick. You leave early and Lily won't suspect anything."

James stared at Sirius wonderingly. "That was pretty smart, Pads. I think Remus is rubbing off on you."

Sirius grinned. "Just as long as he doesn't rub off his looks, I'm okay with it. Imagine how he would ruin the face I strive to keep up…" Sirius trailed off, shaking his head.

"How come no one told _me_ about these theories?" Peter put in, looking angry. "I'm always left out!"

"Well I was left out of this one too Peter and it's _my_ secret!" Remus said, still looking agitated. "I'll admit though, Sirius, you have a good idea there. We'll have to plan everything for tonight."

"Don't worry, Remus. I'll make sure to keep Evans distracted and frustrated tonight. Wormy, you can help," Sirius said, winking.

"As long as neither of you touch her, I'm okay with that," James said. "I'll bring the 'letter' from your father into the common room at ten. We'll plan it all out then, agreed?"

"Agreed," the other three chorused.

* * *

"Moony, Moony," James called urgently, clamouring through the portrait hole and waving a letter frantically. "Minnie just gave me this letter, it's from your father!"

Lily looked over from the far end of the common room, where she was furiously scrubbing at an area that smelt strongly of dungbombs.

"Potter!" She hollered, and James started at the use of his surname. "Get Black down here right now! He's set off dungbombs in the _bloody_ common room! I hate your friends, I really do," she said vehemently, her eyes bright with rage.

"I'll get him, Lily. Here, Remus," James said, thrusting the letter into Remus' hands and then bounding up the staircase to get Sirius.

As he made his way towards the seventh year boys' dormitory, he couldn't help but smile at the fact that, although Lily had said she hated his friends, she hadn't yet said she hated him since their first day back at Hogwarts.

"Padfoot, your plan worked. Lily is distracted and she's pretty furious. She told me to get you down her right now," James called through the door, grinning. Sirius threw the door open and beamed.

"Ah Evans, she is so easy to manipulate. Wormtail refuses to come down, he's scared she'll hex him," he added, and, bounding down the stairs he called, "Coming, Evans!"

James re-entered the common room behind Sirius, to see Remus looking downcast and Lily screeching at Sirius.

"-totally incompetent, you're _seventeen_ Black, this kind of stuff shouldn't be happening anymore!" She stormed, waving her wand and causing a remaining dungbomb to hit him square in the chest.

Sirius put up his hands in defeat, laughing openly.

"Sorry, Evans, sorry! I'll clean it up; you don't have to do a thing. It was that bratty Malcolm Creevey, he wouldn't stop following me around!" Sirius said, whipping out his own wand to clear the mess.

Lily seemed to cool off, but still glared at Sirius reproachfully. "Just stop making a bloody mess of our own common room at least, Black," she retorted, but she gave in and flopped onto the couch by the fire.

"So, Moony, what's the letter say?" James said promptly, turning to Remus expectantly.

"He says my mum is ill again," Remus said sadly, acting his part very well indeed. "I've got to go home tomorrow, in case she doesn't make it this time."

James and Sirius shook their heads sympathetically and gasped in horror, acting their parts rather terribly. Lily didn't seem to notice their fake sadness, however, because she was looking at Remus with a very tender look on her face.

"Oh, Remus," Lily said, walking over to him and hugging him tightly. "It'll be okay. Owl us the second you know how she's doing, won't you?"

"I will," Remus said, feeling rather guilty that Lily was feeling so sorry for him. He wondered idly whether Lily would still want to hug him if she knew he was a werewolf, and gently pushed her away, cringing at the thought of how she would see him if she ever found out.

"I'm going to go to bed," Lily said, patting Remus' arm and walking towards the staircase. "Tell your mother I send my best," she called over her shoulder to Remus as she disappeared up the staircase.

Entering her dormitory, Lily quickly got dressed for bed and slipped into her four-poster bed. Hearing snores from her right, Lily knew that Alice was already fast asleep.

"How does the common room smell?" Dorcas asked sleepily from Lily's left.

"Better," Lily replied. "Black is in charge of cleaning it now."

"We'll be lucky if he doesn't burn the common room down," Dorcas chuckled quietly.

Lily laughed too but stopped abruptly. "When I was down there Remus got a letter from his dad. His mum is sick again, he's leaving first thing tomorrow morning to go be with her."

"She's always sick, poor thing," Dorcas mumbled tiredly. "Well, at least we can cross off Remus for our possible werewolf. After all, if he's not here for the next two days he won't be here for the full moon. In fact, it couldn't be him. He's never around for the full moon, is he?" Dorcas laughed softly.

"Mhm, you're right," Lily agreed, her eyes drifting. After several seconds, however, she sat bolt upright in bed, finally understanding. "Bloody hell, Dorcas! You're right!"

**A.N: This one is a little longer than the others, but it took a while to put up so I figured I owed it. Not really a cliff-hanger, but how will the girls react now that it looks like they've figured out Remus' secret? I can't tell whether I made them find out too early, but I didn't want to drag it out. Anyways, they were bound to find out once they started looking for it, smart girls that they are ;). R&R!**


	7. journey to hogsmeade

The next morning Lily woke up early, an idea already formed in her mind. She hadn't mentioned her new theory to Dorcas or Alice and Lily wasn't planning to; if she was right, this was Remus' secret to tell, not hers. Dressing quickly, Lily was ready for the day just as Dorcas and Alice were waking up.

"Someone's eager," Dorcas grumbled, rubbing her eyes and padding to the bathroom.

Lily shrugged. "It's Friday," she replied, gathering up her books. "I'm going to go get breakfast. I'll meet you both in the Great Hall."

Lily hastened out of the room and down the stairs, thinking hard. Thanks to Dorcas, Lily had a new theory about the werewolf she had heard last month. Dorcas _was_ right; Remus was never around for the full moon. This detail was so trivial Lily wasn't surprised she had never made the connection before, but now that she was on the lookout it was her first clue.

But, she thought, frustrated, what about those other animals behaving so strangely? Had Remus befriended animals in the Forbidden Forest? Lily thought back to the last full moon, trying to determine what could have caused the other animals' odd behaviour.

"Hey, Lily," James' voice interrupted her thoughts as she walked across the common room and Lily turned to glance at him.

"Hey, James. You're up pretty early."

James grinned. "Don't sound so surprised! I'm always up early; it's Padfoot who likes to sleep in."

"If you say so," Lily said with a laugh. James stuck his tongue out at her.

"I do. Anyways, talking about Sirius isn't actually the reason I came over here."

"Are you sure? He seems to be all you ever talk about. I swear you two will be announcing your wedding any day now."

James scowled. "I would never marry Sirius, he's _way_ too high maintenance."

Lily laughed again, secretly marvelling at how easy conversing with James had become in the past month. "So if you didn't want to talk about your boyfriend, which I doubt, then what did you want to say?"

"Oh, uh I can't patrol tomorrow night. I've got loads of homework," James said quickly.

Lily frowned. "Loads? But we've only got Defence today, and our only other homework is to practice vanishing objects for Flitwick and do the Transfiguration essay McGonagall set."

"Er, I know. But I'll be spending the day with my _boyfriend_, as you put it, so I'll have to do it that night. Sorry, Lily! Patrol with Kristen and Rachel again, okay?"

"Alright," Lily agreed, but her eyes were narrowed with suspicion. Patrolling was only about two hours of their Saturday night. Surely James didn't need all that time to complete the small amount of homework they had been given for the weekend?

"Thanks, Lily," James said, smiling. He couldn't quite get over just how much he loved being able to have civil conversations with her now. He also hated that he was missing patrol tonight; two hours of just him and Lily was what he looked forward to during the week. He had learned so much about her already – that her favourite color was gold, that she hated the actual lily flower, that her parents loved that she was magical, but her sister had never understood…. James was so happy that they had reached this level of their relationship that he was beginning to think his plan to date her by the end of the year was back on.

As he turned to go, James heard Lily say, "Oh, James, has Remus left yet? I'm awfully worried about his mother."

James whirled back around, his heart practically breaking at the sorrowful look on Lily's face. "Oh, Lily, don't be sad. Mrs Lupin is fine," James said breathlessly, wishing he could take that look off her face.

"She's fine? But then, why did Remus have to leave? I thought it was urgent?" Lily questioned innocently.

Shit. Now he was done for. James quickly backtracked. "Uh, well, it is urgent….that is to say, er, Remus already sent me a letter. She's fine now, but as he's already there he's just going to er, stay with her for the next few days."

Lily nodded, looking thoughtful. "Alright. And you can't patrol tomorrow night, right?"

"Right," James said, wondering how she had come back to that topic without a million questions about Remus' mother. James had noticed Lily was quite a worrier.

"Okay. I'll see you in Defence!" She replied, and Lily slipped past James and out the portrait hole before he could reply.

Lily smiled serenely to herself as she made her way to the Great Hall. James' stuttering and mumbling had proven one thing in Lily's eyes; Remus was definitely the werewolf she had heard last month. The only thing she needed to figure out now was what those other animals were up to.

And _what_ was with James' suspicious excuses about not being able to patrol tomorrow? Did he have other plans? He had never made plans before knowing he had to patrol…. What was so different about tomorrow night? The only thing Lily could think of was that it was the full moon, but that couldn't possibly….

"Padfoot, you mangy dog! Stop it!" James roared as the Marauders entered the Great Hall, Sirius shaking his hair – wet from a recent shower – at him. Lily couldn't help but giggle; Sirius looked like a huge shaggy dog as he laughed and continued to shake his head in James' direction.

"Prongs, calm down. A bit of water won't kill you!" Sirius laughed as Peter shook his head behind the two, looking tired. The three sat down a few seats away from Lily, who was frozen in shock.

"Hey, Lils, sorry we took so long. Someone spent ages in the shower," Alice greeted, giving Dorcas a teasing glare. Dorcas shrugged unapologetically.

"It was so warm in there! I didn't want to get out!" She defended, plopping down beside Lily and grabbing a few pieces of toast.

"What's up with you, Lily?" Alice asked, shovelling eggs onto her plate.

Lily shook her head. "Nothing, just excited for the weekend," she said, biting into a scone to avoid having to talk.

Padfoot? _Prongs_? James conveniently being unable to attend either patrol that had been on the night of a full moon? Animals acting like humans?

It looked like Lily had just figured out who the mysterious stag and dog were.

As she sat in Defence Against the Dark Arts listening to Professor Walden, their seventh new Defence teacher, drone on about the benefits of non-verbal spells in a duel, Lily scribbled idly on a piece of parchment. Glancing around to make sure no one was paying attention to her, Lily carefully wrote 'Moony, Padfoot, Prongs and Wormtail' on her piece of parchment. She stuck her tongue between her teeth, her eyes narrowed in concentration.

She had always thought the Marauders nicknames for one another were completely random, or else had some stupid sort of meaning behind it. But as Lily searched for answers to explain what exactly she had seen one month ago, everything became a clue. And as she examined these nicknames, she could see the reasoning behind them.

Moony, which was Remus' nickname, was rather obvious now she knew his secret. After all, it was the moon that changed him into his werewolf form each month. She carefully wrote 'werewolf' under the word Moony.

Padfoot, which was Sirius, could easily be the huge shaggy dog she had noticed conversing with the stag. Sirius had black hair, a rather bark-like laugh, and, she supposed, he could be rather large and intimidating. Beneath Padfoot, Lily scrawled 'dog'.

Prongs, of course being James, could apply to the stag she had seen with the dog. If Sirius really was the dog, it would make sense that James was the other animal she had seen. Beneath Prongs Lily scribbled 'stag'.

And finally, Wormtail, which was Peter. Lily couldn't honestly understand what this nickname could possibly mean, but as the other three referred to their animal forms, she assumed Peter's referred to an animal as well.

Thinking of their animal forms brought the real issue back up to Lily's mind. The only explanation Lily could think of was that Remus was a werewolf, and when Sirius, James and Peter had found this out, they had become illegal Animagi in order to be with him during his transformations. Lily had to grudgingly agree that this was rather brilliant; werewolves did not harm other animals, generally, and Remus would be much more himself with his friends around to guide him. However, it was also incredibly dangerous. What were they playing at, breaking the law in such a serious way?

Feeling that her brain was sagging with the weight of the new information, Lily slipped the parchment in her bag before her friends could notice and turned her face to Professor Walden, pretending to listen.

It seemed like a rather far-fetched assumption, but Lily had to admit that all her clues pointed to the fact that Remus _was_ a werewolf, and the other Marauders _were_ illegal Animagi. Determined, Lily knew she had to find the truth out for sure. She would be _sure_ of her theories before she confronted the boys. With a wry smile, Lily began carefully plotting her plan for Saturday evening.

After a quick lunch and an hour of Arithmancy for Lily, Muggle Studies for Peter, Alice and Dorcas, and a free period for Sirius and James, then a hurried dinner of steak and kidney pie, the Marauders and the girls found themselves sprawled across sofas and armchairs in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room.

Dorcas broke the sleepy silence that had settled on them, looking worried. "Lils mentioned Remus' mom to me last night. Any word on how she is?"

"Nope," Sirius said at the same time that Lily said, "James said she's okay."

Everyone looked between Sirius and Lily, who were looking surprised at one another.

"Sirius? But….James said she was fine," Lily said slowly, trying to hide a smile; Sirius' slip up was another clue towards the whole Remus-being-a-werewolf theory.

"Oh, um, yeah," Sirius said, eyes darting from each person's face. Lily saw James kick Sirius, who winced, and the nodded vigorously. "Oh, yeah, she's fine, I just forgot. Is anyone surprised?" He joked, but Lily noticed he rubbed his leg where James had kicked him, glaring at his best friend.

"Well that's good!" Lily said, trying to cover up Sirius' mistake as Dorcas and Alice exchanged a confused look.

"So, Padfoot, what's the plan for tonight?" James asked, successfully changing the topic.

Sirius frowned. "Hmmm, well, seeing as this is our last Friday that we can do whatever we want, I think a trip to Hogsmeade is in order!"

"Hogsmeade? You expect us to sneak out of the castle undetected, march into Hogsmeade, have some fun and then just stroll back up to the castle whenever we feel like it?" Dorcas asked incredulously, eyebrows raised.

"Yep!" Sirius replied, beaming and clapping his hands excitedly. Everyone stared at him

"Wow I feel bad for your friends," Lily said, shaking her head. They all laughed except Sirius, who sighed heavily.

"I feel bad for them too. Being friends with the most gorgeous person Hogwarts has ever seen? No doubt it's taken a toll on their self-confidence," he said, looking at James and Peter sadly. James threw a pillow at him, and everyone laughed again.

"Why is this the last Friday you can do whatever you want?" Dorcas asked.

"Because, dear Dorcas, Jamesie here has been made Quidditch Captain. And while the rest of the team, myself included, cheered when it was announced, thinking early morning practices were finally drawing to a close, the son of a bludger explains that practice is still at eight every Saturday morning. Consequently, we have to be on alert every Saturday morning starting next week, thanks to this stupid git."

"We _need_ to win this year! You'll be thanking me on bended knee when we have that Quidditch Cup, all because we sacrificed a few Saturday mornings!"

"Oh c'mon, we'd win anyway! We're easily the best team," Sirius boasted.

"Okay, as much fun as talking about Quidditch is for those of us who get to sleep in on Saturday mornings, what are we _actually_ going to do tonight?" Alice asked impatiently. "Frank is doing a stupid essay tonight and I want to have some fun!"

"I already told you, we're going to go to Hogsmeade!" Sirius said happily.

"Black, how do you expect to get to and from Hogsmeade undetected?" Lily asked impatiently.

"Us Marauders have our ways," Sirius said mysteriously, winking cheekily at Lily. "Here's how it will happen – Dorcas and I will take the Cloak-"

"Cloak? What cloak?" Dorcas interrupted.

"Dorcas, dear, these matters may be a bit above your head, so let me finish and then you can ask your questions," Sirius said with a smile, putting a finger to his lips.

"As I was saying, Dorcas and I will go under the Cloak, then Peter and Alice will follow with the map, and finally our lovely Heads will follow, seeing as they are allowed out at any time of the evening."

"So we're just going to walk out the front door?" Dorcas asked impatiently. "How do you expect we will manage that?"

"What did I say about not interrupting? Jeez, women," Sirius grumbled. Seeing the look on Dorcas' face however, he quickly backtracked. "Well sweetie, we won't be going out the front door. We will be taking a secret passage that we Marauders found in first year. Now let's get going!"

"We haven't snuck out to Hogsmeade yet this year!" Peter said excitedly, grinning.

"You're right, Wormtail. How disappointing. We'll have to make this a good night. I'll run up and get the stuff," James said. He disappeared up the steps to the boys' dormitory and returned a moment later with something silvery and a piece of parchment.

"What –" Dorcas began but Sirius put his hand over her mouth.

"Stop asking questions! Bloody hell, are you ever quiet?" he asked, grinning. Dorcas glared balefully at him crossing her arms.

"Alright, like I said, I'll go first with Dorcas. Peter, when you see us by the one-eyed witch on the map, you and Alice go, alright?"

Peter nodded while Alice inquired, "map? What map?"

"Blimey, women are all the same. Question, question, question! Wormtail will fill you in. Now let's go!" Sirius moaned, grabbing the silvery object out of James' hands and holding it out to Dorcas.

"This, my dear, is an Invisibility Cloak. It –" he began, but was cut off again by Dorcas.

"An _actual_ Invisibility Cloak? Merlin, this must be rare!" She squealed, touching the fabric lightly. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Anyway, you and I will get to the passage under this, so no one will see us. Let's go!"

"Well we need to get changed first! I can't go into Hogsmeade in my school robes," Dorcas said, crossing her arms again. Sirius sighed.

"Fine, everyone get changed and we'll meet back here in ten minutes."

The girls ran up to their dormitory, flinging their robes off and rifling through their clothes. Lily threw on a green t-shirt and jeans; Alice a black cardigan and jeans, and Dorcas a red halter top and skirt.

"You two are so boring," Dorcas said sadly, but they had no time to change as they heard the boys yelling for them to hurry up.

They pranced down the stairs and Sirius threw the Cloak over he and Dorcas before she could say anything, and began pushing her toward the portrait hole.

"Alright, alright, I'm going!" Dorcas snarled, and the rest of the group saw the portrait hole open, apparently of its own accord, then close.

Walking slowly to verify that no part of their body was visible, Dorcas and Sirius walked down the hallway and down several staircases.

"You're being awfully quiet," Sirius commented, leading them through a passageway covered by a tapestry.

"Apparently I'm never quiet," Dorcas said, glaring at him. Sirius grinned sheepishly.

"Heat of the moment, love. I'm just excited about going to Hogsmeade! It's so much fun when there are no other students there!"

Dorcas rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help but feel excited. "So where's this secret passageway, then?"

"Just up this hallway. It leads to the basement of Honeydukes," Sirius explained, skipping lightly as they walked.

Soon they reached the statue of a rather ugly one-eyed witch. "Dissendium," Sirius muttered, tapping the witch's hump on her back. In front of their eyes, her hump opened to reveal a wide tunnel. Sirius made sure no one was coming down either hallway, then ducked out from under the Cloak and dove into the tunnel.

"Sirius!" Dorcas half-shouted.

"Shut up, Dorcas you'll get us caught! Just come on!" She heard Sirius say from the darkness of the tunnel. Keeping the Cloak around her firmly, Dorcas heaved herself into the tunnel, and straightened up right beside Sirius, who was shaking his head at her.

"Let's go, we've got a bit of a walk ahead of us," he said, and the two set off down the long and winding tunnel, Dorcas shoving the Cloak into her pocket.

It was dank and cold in the tunnel, and for the first twenty minutes the pair walked in silence.

"Fancy getting drunk tonight, Dorcas?" Sirius asked, grinning and glancing sideways at her. Dorcas laughed.

"As if that would up your chances in the slightest, Black," she retorted, sniggering.

"Back to last names, are we? And I thought we had been progressing so nicely," he said in mock sadness.

Dorcas elbowed him. "Maybe we would be progressing if you didn't keep making suggestive comments," she pointed out.

"That was hardly a suggestive comment. Every time we come here we all get pissed, but that doesn't mean we all hook up with one another," Sirius said, shuddering at the thought. "You'll just have loads more fun if you're drunk too. I hear we're rather hard to be around when we've been drinking."

"Well you're hard to be around when you're _not_ drinking, so I'm sure it will be painful for me either way."

Sirius made a face at her and then laughed. "Well either way, my goal for the night is to get James smashed. He's always the funniest of us all."

Dorcas laughed. "That sounds about right. Are we nearly there? You've gotten me all wound up!"

"About five more minutes, I'd say, and then we should be there."

After several minutes had passed, the tunnel began to rise, and soon they were crouched below a trap door.

"We ought to wait here for the others," Sirius muttered, checking his watch. "They should be about twenty minutes."

"Okay," Dorcas replied. They sat together on one area of the tunnel that slightly jutted out. It was rather small and they were pressed close together. Dorcas glanced around the tunnel, trying to calm herself down. One half of her body was pressed up to Sirius and she could barely control herself. What was wrong with her?

Out of her peripheral vision, Dorcas thought she saw Sirius raise his hand, almost as if to take hers, then hesitate and drop his hand back into his lap. Dorcas glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, but he was looking the other way. Sighing, Dorcas began humming tunelessly, wishing the other four would hurry up and get there.

Twenty-five minutes later Lily and James, the last to arrive, joined the other four at the bottom of the trap door.

"Finally," Sirius muttered under his breath, and pushing the trap door open, he scurried out of sight, the rest following quickly behind.

As they snuck quietly out of the closed Honeydukes shop, James was feeling too elated to notice how chilly the night was, or where they were headed. He had just spent an almost hour walk through the tunnel chatting unconcernedly with Lily. And to make matters even odder, she had been talking right back to him. They hadn't raised their voices at one another once all year. James was feeling very confident that progress was being made on the Lily front.

However, much as they were getting along lately, James couldn't help but remember the first prefect's meeting of the year. Lily had been very clear when she had told him they were to be _just_ friends, and he had promised he wouldn't ever ask her out again. How was he going to get out of that one? What if, like she seemed, Lily _only_ wanted to be friends? James grimaced at the thought and the hopeful balloon that had inflated in his stomach suddenly felt as if it had been punctured. He gazed at Lily's back as she walked ahead with Alice and Dorcas, laughing merrily, and decided he would take any part of Lily that she offered. If being friends was what she wanted from him, he would be the very best friend he could be.

"I thought you said we were going somewhere exciting, Sirius? The Three Broomsticks isn't exciting," Dorcas said, breaking James out of his trance.

"It is at night my dear Dorcas, just you wait and see!" Sirius crowed, racing ahead of the group and pulling the door to the pub open wide.

The pub was fairly crowded and smelt of smoke and ale as the group made their way in and slid into a booth in the back corner.

"I'll go get drinks, shall I?" Sirius asked, but before he could hop out of his seat, Madam Rosmerta, the barmaid, appeared at their table.

"Sirius Black, how many times must I tell you I'm not to allow Hogwarts students in my pub past seven?" She said, trying to sound reproachful, but grinning at him nonetheless.

Sirius batted his eyelashes innocently. "But Rosmerta, we're of age! Come on, love, just a few shots of Firewhiskey. Who's ever to know?"

"A whole room of eye witnesses, seeing as the pub's rather packed this evening," Madam Rosmerta said, wagging a finger in Sirius' direction. Sirius gave her a pleading look and Rosmerta sighed, giving in. "Fine, I'll turn the other cheek tonight. But if you're caught, on your own heads be it!"

"Cheers, Rosmerta," Sirius said, grinning. "We'll just take a bottle of Firewhiskey, m'dear."

"Of course you will, wouldn't be the Marauder's without a bottle between you. Where's your cute friend gone to? I've never seen you here without him before."

"_I'm_ the cute one, Rosmerta, but if you're talking about Remus he's at the – er, at his parents house. Mum's sick and all," Sirius said, shrugging.

"Poor lad. Send him down for a pick me up when he gets back. I've had my eye on him for a while now," Rosmerta said, winking at Sirius. Sirius looked devastated.

"Rosmerta! How can you say that? I thought I was your only love?" He demanded, looking sorrowful.

Rosmerta laughed and winked again. "Bottle of Firewhiskey coming right up!"

As Rosmerta walked away, James and Peter began laughing.

"Sirius fancies her, but she always manages to turn him down," James explained to the girls, still laughing. Sirius threw a fork at him, which James ducked away from swiftly, still chortling.

Dorcas laughed with the girls, but in the pit of her stomach she felt a pang of jealously. Embarrassed, she quickly shook the feeling off. Sirius was not hers to claim in any way, and feeling jealously of his mild flirtation was absurd. When the bottle arrived at the table, Dorcas took a shot with the boys, just to calm her nerves.

The boys and Dorcas continued taking shots until the bottle was completely gone. Lily was giving Dorcas a _very_ disapproving look, but Dorcas ignored it, finishing her last shot while the boys cheered her on.

"Rosmerta, another round!" Sirius shouted, grinning and raising his shot glass. Rosmerta returned with another bottle, holding it tantalisingly out of Sirius' reach.

"I refuse to sell you anymore alcohol after this. The Headmaster would have my head as it is if he knew you six were drinking in my pub!"

"Aw Rose don't be a worry wart! We'll be fine. Chuck us the last bottle, please?" Sirius begged, stretching his arms out for it. Rosmerta rolled her eyes and passed him the bottle, winking at the others and returning to the bar.

"Lilypop are you _sure_ you don't want some?" Sirius asked, pouring a shot and sliding it towards her.

"I'm very certain I don't want any. Almost as certain as I am that 'Lilypop' is a horrible nickname," Lily retorted, sliding the shot across her to James. "You might as well have it, although you look like you're about to pass out. I never knew James Potter was a lightweight," she teased, grinning.

James glared at her and threw back the shot, wiping his mouth and slamming the shot glass back on the table. "I am _not_ a light weight! Look, Peter's already asleep! I'm not _that_ bad. Keep them coming, Pads!"

Sirius eagerly poured another shot for James, and then Dorcas. They took their shots simultaneously, laughing for no reason.

Alice and Lily exchanged a glance. "Dorcas, um, don't you think you shouldn't drink anymore? I mean, we have to get back to the school…"

"Lils, don't worry about me. I'm totally fine," Dorcas slurred, glancing through heavily-lidded eyes at Lily. "Another!" She added to Sirius, banging her shot glass on the table impatiently.

Sirius eagerly filled her shot glass, but his expression faltered as he saw the look Lily was giving him.

"Er, Dorcas, you've had a lot. Maybe I should take this one…" he suggested, but Dorcas leaned across the table and gulped down the shot before he could finish.

"What can I say, the girl is one of a kind," Sirius laughed, shrugging at the displeased look on Lily's face.

"Stop ignoring me! I want another drink too!" James shouted, causing several people seated close to them to turn around and stare at the group.

Eventually James, Sirius and Dorcas had finished the second bottle, all three of them awfully drunk. They sat grinning stupidly at one another as Alice and Lily shook their heads and Peter snored, his head leaned against the wall.

"Let's dance!" Dorcas said giddily, sliding out of the booth and stumbling slightly. No one moved to go with her so Dorcas muttered, "Fine, I'll go by myself."

Dorcas flounced into the throng of people dancing in the middle of the pub, which had been cleared of tables and chairs and made into a dance floor. James ignored her departure completely, staring lovingly at Lily, who seemed not to notice as she frowned after Dorcas.

"I'll go get her, make sure she doesn't get into any trouble," Sirius said quickly, rising from the table himself and heading towards the dance floor. He pushed through the crowd and spotted Dorcas dancing by herself and laughing.

Sirius came up behind her and whispered in her ear, "Dorcas, let's go back now, yeah? It's a long walk, and you're going to get tired."

Dorcas shook her head, her long blonde hair swishing behind her. "I'm not tired at all! I don't want to go back yet. Please can we stay for just a few songs? Please Sirius?" She turned around to glance at him, her big brown eyes pleading. Sirius felt something unfamiliar jolt in his stomach, and nodded rather helplessly at her.

"Okay Dorcas, we can stay for a few songs. But just a few."

Dorcas beamed at him. "Dance with me!" She demanded, grabbing his hands. She swayed her hips to the beat, laughing and pulling him around with her.

Sirius knew that he could get her now. He could do what he'd planned from his first day back at Hogwarts. It wouldn't be difficult, hell she seemed all too willing. He could take her to that empty room in the dungeon he had found a few years back. He would finally be over his strange obsession with Dorcas Meadowes, and he would have hooked up with the one girl James had deemed 'a bit out of his league'.

But as her watched her dance, laughing and twirling around, still holding onto his hands, he couldn't make himself do it. He couldn't put on his seductive smirk, and tell her he knew somewhere else they could go, where they could have some _real_ fun. He couldn't do it, and he didn't know why. Merlin knows he _wanted_ to, but he couldn't make himself do it. Instead he twirled her around, holding her hands firmly, and laughing with her as she danced happily.

They could have been dancing for half an hour, or four hours, Sirius wasn't sure. Eventually, James came up to him and told him they were going to leave, but Lily didn't want to leave without Dorcas.

"We'll be right behind you guys," he promised. When James looked skeptical Sirius added, "Honestly, we will."

"Okay," James said slowly. He turned around and stumbled towards Lily, holding her hand and Peter's for support as Alice walked in front of them, laughing.

"Dorcas," Sirius murmured after a few minutes, squeezing her hands gently. Dorcas looked up blearily. "We've got to go back. It's late."

"Alright," Dorcas pouted and Sirius laughed, wrapping an arm around her waist and helping her out of the pub.

James, Lily, Peter and Alice were no where in sight, so Sirius pulled Dorcas along, leading her back into Honeydukes, back through the trap door and through the tunnel passageway. As they reached the passage through the one-eyed witch, Sirius pulled the Invisibility Cloak out of Dorcas' pocket and threw it around both of them. It was slow work, walking through the castle, as Sirius was practically dragging Dorcas. Finally they reached the portrait hole. Sirius ripped the Cloak off his head, ignored the shocked look of the Fat Lady and muttered the password.

By the time they reached the common room, Dorcas was fast asleep. Sirius deliberated for a moment, then scooped her up into his arms bridal style and carried her up to the boys' dormitory. Entering his room, Sirius saw James fast asleep in his bed and Peter passed out in his. Sirius gently placed Dorcas on Remus' vacant bed, tucking her in carefully. He kissed her on the forehead, earning a slight moan from her which made him chuckle softly, then climbed into his own bed, gazing over at her.

Sirius didn't know what he was feeling towards this strange, beautiful girl, but he didn't think it could be anything good. After all, Sirius Black had _never_ passed up an opportunity to have sex – especially just because he didn't want to _hurt_ the girl.

**A.N : I know, no Remus in this one! I'm sorry! I meant to put it in, but this chapter **_**completely**_** wrote itself. Although it prevents me from putting what I actually wanted to into a chapter, a whole different idea came out, and before I knew it, the whole thing had been written! Just to not leave you all hanging, I'll put up the next chapter within the next week, which will **_**definitely**_** have Remus in it, and Lily explaining her theory to him. Look at Sirius though, being all sweet and caring. Gotta love him! R&R**


	8. confrontation

When Sirius woke the next morning the first thing he noticed was that Dorcas was gone. He rolled over and noticed James rubbing his eyes and yawning hugely.

"Hey there, Pads. How was last night? I gotta say, I never thought you would get Dorcas Meadowes but – " James began, but Sirius cut him off.

"I didn't get her," he snapped. James looked mildly surprised by his tone, but then grinned.

"You're kidding? When have you ever left a drunken girl alone, especially one you've been going on about for over a month now?"

Sirius gritted his teeth. He wasn't exactly sure why, but he was pissed off that James was making these assumptions about Dorcas. "It's not like that," he muttered.

James' eyebrows rose so high they were hidden by the black, untidy hair sweeping across his forehead. "Not like that? What do you mean?" He asked slowly. Peter, who had been covering his head with his pillow, glanced up to see Sirius' response.

Sirius immediately regretted speaking. "I didn't mean….Just never mind. Nothing happened with Dorcas. She passed out and I brought her here. She slept in Moony's bed." Sirius waved unnecessarily to Remus' bed as both James and Peter looked over at it before Sirius had gotten the whole sentence out.

Peter let out a low whistle. "Padfoot didn't sleep with a drunk, hot girl. Instead, he tucked her into _a different_ bed. Are you feeling okay?" He asked, peering at Sirius.

"I'm fine," Sirius snapped, his temper rising. "Why's it so hard to believe I didn't sleep with her?"

James and Peter looked at each other and burst out laughing. Sirius glowered at them, controlling the urge to start shouting. Jumping from his bed, Sirius threw on the nearest clothes he could find.

"I'm outta here," Sirius growled. James and Peter abruptly stopped laughing. James opened his mouth to say something but Sirius slammed the door closed behind him.

"What the hell's with him?" Peter asked, looking bewildered.

* * *

Dorcas sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, idly stirring the bowl of porridge in front of her. She had one of the worst hangovers she could ever remember having, and she felt she would gladly drown herself in her porridge before dealing with this hangover for the rest of the day.

The hangover, however, wasn't going to be the worst of Dorcas' problems for the day. She had woken up, head throbbing and stomach churning, moaning out for Lily, who always helped her after an evening of drinking. Rolling over onto her side and peering over at the bed beside her, however, Dorcas had come face to face with Sirius, who was sleeping soundly. She bolted from the room, raced to her own dormitory and immediately threw on a change of clothes. She knew Alice and Lily would bombard her with questions as to where she had been all night, and why she had stayed out later with Sirius, but Dorcas didn't want to answer them. Creeping around her room to avoid waking her two best friends, Dorcas had fled to the Great Hall to avoid their prying questions.

As she sat there, Dorcas didn't know what she was going to tell her friends. She decided to stick with the truth – she had just wanted to dance, and Sirius had been the one to come over to her. As for that evening, well she didn't even remember walking back to the Gryffindor common room, and Sirius definitely hadn't tried anything with her, as she had woken up fully clothed in Remus' bed.

Dorcas tried to block out the voice in her mind that wondered _why_ Sirius hadn't tried anything. Was he over his 'attraction' for her, just like that? Did he really _just_ want to be friends? Dorcas felt a pang at that thought, but she ignored it. She did _not _like Sirius Black; she just thought he was good-looking, just like every other girl at Hogwarts did. In fact, it was a relief Sirius hadn't tried anything; it would have just been awkward for them later.

As Dorcas struggled to ignore the thoughts swirling in her head, she noticed Sirius himself walk into the Great Hall, muttering furiously to himself. His head snapped up as he neared the Gryffindor table and noticed she was the only one sitting there. He looked torn for a moment, as if he wasn't sure if he wanted to sit with her, but after a moments hesitation, he plopped himself down on the bench across from her.

"Hey," Dorcas said, smiling at him.

"Hi," he mumbled, pulling a plate of eggs towards him and ladling some onto his plate.

"Thanks…for bringing me up to bed last night," Dorcas said awkwardly.

Sirius grunted and shrugged his shoulders, eating quickly.

"Erm…so I guess in future I shouldn't try and keep up with you Marauders when we're drinking," Dorcas joked, smiling hesitantly. "Sorry for being a mess last night."

Sirius made another noncommittal noise in his throat and continued to eat at lightning speed.

Dorcas glanced around uncomfortably, trying to think of something else to say. "Er…have you finished that Transfiguration essay yet?"

"Nope," Sirius said thickly, finishing his eggs and chugging his pumpkin juice.

"Me neither," Dorcas admitted. "I'm going to work on it today, so um, let me know if you want to do it too, or something."

Sirius nodded and jumped to his feet. "I'd best be off, I'll see you…later," he said, and before Dorcas could reply he had raced out of the Great Hall.

Dorcas wasn't sure why Sirius was acting so oddly, but she was sure it had something to do with last night. Maybe when she had been drunk she had let slip something about how she liked him? …Which she didn't, of course, but it would be just like her to swoon over how bloody gorgeous he was while he dragged her to bed. Feeling downcast, Dorcas was sure Sirius didn't want another clingy girl following him around, and she figured he was sure that was what Dorcas was going to be around him now. With a groan, Dorcas abandoned her uneaten porridge and left the Great Hall, making her way back towards the common room.

* * *

Throughout the rest of the day, the six seventh-year Gryffindor's sat awkwardly around the common room, only talking to ask questions about the homework they were trying to complete, or else comment on the weather, which was cold and windy.

James and Peter were warily watching Sirius out of the corner of their eyes that evening, as he furiously scribbled on some parchment, finishing his Transfiguration essay. They weren't sure why he had been so irritable with them this morning, but they wanted to be on good terms today; especially because tonight was the full moon. Remus had been staying in a private area of the hospital wing, and tonight they would meet up with him as usual in the Shrieking Shack. It would not be as fun as it always was if Sirius was being surly.

Lily and Alice had, as predicted, attacked Dorcas with questions the second they had woken up, but her vague and snappish answers had made them stop abruptly. They were now shooting her furtive looks as she gazed into the fire, her essay long forgotten, resting on her lap.

Sirius and Dorcas themselves were ignoring their friends, and pretending they didn't notice the glances their concerned friends were shooting at them. They were both avoiding thinking of the night before, and both ignoring _why _they wanted to avoid thinking of the previous evening.

Dorcas hadn't spoken to Sirius all day since they had sat together at breakfast, and she was worried that any hopes of them having a friendship had completely diminished. Whenever she thought about last night she could remember vividly how attracted she had been to Sirius, and that made her frustrated. She wasn't like all those other girls who threw themselves at him, but she was foolish enough to get butterflies in her stomach when he touched her, or blush furiously when he made a suggestive comment. She had hoped they would become friends, to prove that's all she wanted from him, but with his sullen attitude throughout the day it looked very unlikely.

Sirius on the other hand, had no idea why he was feeling so awkward toward Dorcas. He wasn't sure why he hadn't tried anything, or why he had been so mad that James had assumed something had happened. He had felt something very foreign and odd towards Dorcas the previous evening, and he did not wish to explore its meaning. For the first time in his life, Sirius focused his mind on his school work, and not on the girl that was currently starring in his thoughts.

Eventually, Dorcas and Alice gave up on their homework and marched up to bed, muttering vague goodnights to the Marauders and Lily, who said she was going to stay in the common room and read for a bit.

It was almost eleven thirty and Lily was stubbornly sitting in the common room, fighting against her drooping eyes and pretending to read her Arithmancy text book. In actuality, she was peering at the Marauders over the top of her book, waiting for them to give in and go join Remus for the full moon. They were muttering concernedly and shooting her furtive looks, which she returned with a small smile. She knew they were worried about leaving the common room so late at night with her watching.

Finally deciding to give in, Lily gave a huge fake yawn and stretched her arms over her head. Placing her book on the table, Lily rose and made her way to the stairs leading to the dormitories.

"'Night," she called over her shoulder to the three boys, and walked up the stairs, purposefully stomping on each stair as she reached her room. After she had stomped on the final stair, Lily quickly turned and darted back down the stairs as silently as possible. She peered around the wall and watched the boys anxiously.

"Bloody hell Evans can read," Sirius grumbled, pulling out the Invisibility Cloak he had covered himself and Dorcas with last night. "Moony's already been out there for ages, we should have just left."

"No," James disagreed, whipping out the map, tapping it with his wand and examining it closely. "Lily's really clever, the cleverest witch I've ever met. I think she's already suspicious about it. She would find out in two seconds if she saw us all happening to leave the common room for a night time excursion, on the full moon of all nights."

"Well, she's gone to bed now, so let's hurry up. I can't wait to transform, I haven't run around outside in ages," Peter piped in, stowing his wand in his pocket and pulling the Cloak out of Sirius' hands to throw it around the three of them.

"Since when have _you _wanted to run?" Sirius joked. Lily imagined Peter sending him a withering glare, but she couldn't be sure as he had wrapped the Cloak securely around the three of them.

"Let's go then. Hallways are clear, we'll just watch out by the Trophy Room, Peeves is bouncing around over there," she heard James' voice mutter. A moment later the portrait hole had opened and she heard them scampering out of it. It swung shut behind them, and Lily crept back up to bed, more certain than she had been before of her theories.

Unable to sleep, Lily sat by the window which overlooked the lake. After about half an hour, her eyes were itching with tiredness. She turned for one last look out the window before she went to her bed. Although she couldn't be sure, as her eyes were burning with tiredness, Lily thought she saw a large black dog bounding around excitedly, with a stag close on its heels, bending its head as if to playfully ram it with its antlers.

Climbing into her bed and pulling the curtains around it, Lily felt a spasm of worry about the confrontation she planned for the morning, and tried as hard as she could to ignore the fluttery feeling she felt when she remembered James telling Sirius and Peter that she was the cleverest witch he'd ever met.

* * *

Lily's alarm blared at five o'clock in the morning, and she quickly silenced it with a wave of her wand. Peering over to make sure she hadn't awoken Alice or Dorcas, Lily slipped on her dressing gown and darted down the stone steps to the common room. She assumed the Marauder's would be getting in any moment now, and she was ready to confront them.

Lily sat in an armchair by the burnt out fire, her heart pounding as she waited. She was surprised the boys' were taking so long; she assumed they would be back earlier than this. Unsure of how long she waited, Lily just peered into the empty grate, worrying about how to approach the subject. Eventually, although she wasn't sure how much time had passed, Lily heard the portrait hole swing open. Standing up quickly she saw James, looking tired and dishevelled, stumble into the common room.

"Lily? Wha-" James began, but she cut across him swiftly.

"Are you an Animagus?"

James stared at her, open-mouthed.

"What?" He asked slowly.

"I said, are you an Animagus?" Lily repeated, feeling very nervous. James' eyes darted around the room, possibly looking for bystanders, or else an escape route.

"Why are you asking me that?" He finally asked, trying much too hard to look innocent.

Lily sighed. "I know about Remus. At least, I'm quite sure I do."

James made no move to interrupt, so Lily went on.

"He's a werewolf, isn't he? And you – that is, you and Sirius and Peter – all became illegal Animagi so you could be with him during his transformations, didn't you?"

James gaped at her. "H-How did you…?" He began but she cut him off again.

"Dorcas gave me the idea, really. Oh, don't worry, she has no idea," Lily promised when James looked horrified. "She just mentioned Remus is never around for the full moon, which really got me thinking about….why that would be. Then your story about his mother didn't exactly match up, especially with Sirius' mistake the other night."

"I'll kill Sirius for that," James grumbled, rubbing a hand across his face.

"It's not his fault. I was quite sure before his slip up."

"Well…what made you think of the Animagi part, then?" James asked, still looking completely shocked.

"Ah. Well, I wondered about your vague answers for why you couldn't patrol, and the only clue I had was that it was the full moon. Then, of course, I heard Sirius calling you "Prongs", reminding me of the stag I saw last full moon. Of course, "Padfoot" could easily mean the big black dog I'd also seen, and obviously, "Moony" fit with Remus being a werewolf. I wasn't sure about "Wormtail", in fact I'm still not, but –" Lily knew she was rambling so she stopped herself and stared at James' face, awaiting his reaction.

"You really are the cleverest witch of our age," James mumbled after a moment, which Lily took to be a confirmation of her theory.

"What exactly is Peter…?" She trailed off, unsure of whether or not she should ask.

"Rat," James whispered, looking at the ground. Lily nodded silently.

"Look, I understand you don't want to talk to Remus anymore, but you have to promise you won't say anything…" James said, but the confused look on Lily's face made him stop abruptly.

"What do you mean? Of course I want to talk to Remus," Lily said, still looking puzzled.

James looked stumped. "But, you're right. He is a-a….werewolf."

"I know."

James looked at her, stunned. "It doesn't bother you?" He asked finally.

Lily shook her head. "Of course not! Well, obviously I wish he wasn't, what a horrible thing for him to go through! I've heard talk of a potion that _may_ be out soon for lycanthropy, which would be wonderful for him. I'll have to look it up…." She trailed off, again confused by the shocked look on James' face.

"James, did you care when you found out?" Lily asked gently.

"No, but –"

"Well, why is it so hard to believe that I don't care either?"

James half-smiled. "I guess it isn't. You truly are amazing, Lily."

Lily blushed. "I'm not," she disagreed. "Truly amazing is taking the risk needed to learn to become an Animagus to help out your friend when he really needs you."

James almost laughed. "I thought you'd go nuts if you ever found out about that. We must have broken fifty school rules in the process. Not including every month when we sneak out of the castle to remain in the company of a werewolf all night."

"There are things more important than school rules, James."

James actually did laugh this time. "You never cease to surprise me, y'know. I never thought I would hear _that_ come out of your mouth."

Lily giggled too, ignoring the blush that had not yet faded. "You're a wonderful friend to him. All of you are. Even Sirius, but don't you _dare_ tell him I said that."

James chuckled. "It would only continue to inflate his gigantic ego."

They stood several feet apart from one another, glancing at each other awkwardly. Lily opened her mouth to ask a question – she had millions – when the portrait hole opened again and Sirius, Peter and Remus stumbled in, all looking tired and Remus looking exceptionally pale.

The three had been chatting and laughing amiably, but stopped abruptly when they saw Lily and James standing there, staring at them.

"Uh…hey," Sirius said slowly, wondering what was going on. "What're you two up to?"

Neither responded. Lily was looking tenderly at Remus, and when their eyes met, hers filled with tears.

"Oh, _Remus_," Lily practically sobbed, and she dashed over to him, hugging him tightly.

Remus, feeling completely bewildered, patted her awkwardly on the back and stared curiously over at James.

"She knows," James mouthed, and Remus' eyes widened, horrified as he understood.

"I'm so sorry, Remus," Lily said, hugging him tighter still.

It took Remus almost a full minute to comprehend that Lily wasn't running from him, screaming wildly. And he knew then that she wasn't about to. She knew his darkest secret, and she accepted it. He hugged her back tightly, holding back his own tears as hers fell onto his shoulder.

"Lily, are you down here? What are you doing up this early?" Dorcas' voice sounded from the stairs, and a moment later she had appeared in the common room.

"What in the world?" She asked, staring from a beaming James to a confused Sirius to an exhausted Peter, and then at Remus and Lily who were just breaking apart, Lily wiping her eyes on her dressing gown.

"It's nothing, Dorcas," Lily said thickly, smiling at her. "I was just…just thinking of Petunia," she lied quickly.

"Oh, honey, alright then. Do you want me to stay down here with you?"

Lily shook her head. "No, no, you go back to bed. The boys will stay with me. Really I'm fine," she added when Dorcas continued to look skeptical.

"Alright, I'll see you in a few hours," Dorcas said, still looking suspicious. She turned on her heel and marched back up the stairs.

When she heard the dormitory door close behind Dorcas, Lily spun around to face the boys.

"I won't tell her, I promise," she said, grinning.

"Whoa, Evans, you're not mad?" Sirius asked, after James explained that Lily knew their secret.

"Mad? Of course not! You guys are the best friends any werewolf could have," she said, smiling. "Of course, I'm mad you didn't tell me, but I understand it was a pretty huge secret."

"You are a strange girl, Lily Evans," Sirius said, shaking his head, but grinning nonetheless.

"So I'm told. Now, sit. I have _so_ many questions for you four."

The Marauders and Lily stayed in the common room for hours while the rest of Gryffindor slept soundly. They told Lily everything; how they found out about Remus, how Sirius had the crazy idea that they all become Animagi, and it had taken four years to perfect. Lily was an excellent audience, gasping and nodding at all the right times. Eventually, the rest of Gryffindor tower filtered down the staircase for breakfast, and Lily went down to the Great Hall with the Marauders.

She wasn't exactly sure why, but being part of their secret made Lily feel much more closer to the Marauders than she ever dreamed she would be. As a bemused Dorcas and Alice took seats beside her, Dorcas and Sirius avoiding one another's eye, James and Peter laughing loudly, with Alice joining in for several jokes, and Lily herself sharing a knowing smile with Remus, Lily had to admit she had no idea what was in store for the seven of them this year, but she wasn't sorry that things were changing.

**A.N: So there's the next chapter! It took me a little longer than I said it would, but reviews would really speed up the whole updating process (hint hint!) I have almost double the amount of alerts as I do reviews! Reviews are lovely, and they will definitely move updates along faster! Thanks to everyone who reviewed already, and who reads! R&R And just to inspire you all to review, here's a little sneak peek for the next chapter!**

**Next Chapter:**

"Can I see it?" Lily asked eagerly, leaning forward.

James looked puzzled for a moment, and then looked down at his pants.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Merlin's sake, not _that_."

"Oh." James' brow furrowed. "Then what?"

"Your Animagus form! Honestly, boys!"

**A.N : So I totally did not want to do this, but I'm not updating until I have 20 reviews on this story. There's so many hits, you guys must be liking some part of it! Next chapter is up and almost ready to roll, so the faster those reviews come, the faster the chapter gets up! I love you all for reading, but feedback is so helpful! Help me out :)**


	9. a failed distraction

**A.N: So, almost a month later, and the next chapter is up! I'm sorry, but in all fairness, you didn't uphold the deal of twenty reviews anyway! So here's the next chapter, starting this weekend updates will be much faster as the Christmas holidays will be ongoing! R&R and this chapter may get a little sketchy towards the end ;) but no lemons I swear! Not too much interaction between James and Lily but they will be back full blast in the next chapter!**

It had been a week since Lily had confronted James about Remus being a werewolf, and Lily had to admit it had been a rather strange week.

For one, she had actually sat _next_ to James Potter during their Transfiguration class. She could hear the mutters around them as he slid into the seat beside her, but she ignored them. She had a very high level of respect for James ever since she had found out about him becoming an Animagus, and she had to admit he had really matured. They had actual conversations, and Lily found it surprisingly easy to talk to him.

For another, Dorcas, who was usually constantly giddy or the center of attention, had been rather withdrawn throughout the week. She always looked concerned or confused, but brushed it off whenever Lily or Alice questioned her about it. Lily tried not to bother her about it too much – she knew Dorcas would talk to her when she was ready.

The really strange thing that had happened this weekend was the friendship that had ignited between the seventh-year Gryffindor girls and the Marauders. Although Dorcas and Alice did not yet know about Remus' secret, they were eager to sit with the boys and become friends. Lily suspected they were just grateful she no longer hated James, but she didn't mention it to them. She, too, was glad they had become friends with the boys.

It was nearing midnight on a chilly October evening and Lily and James were the only ones left in the common room. Lily was trying to concentrate on her reading for Charms, but she still had so many questions for James about being an Animagus; it had always been a secret desire of hers. Before she could stop herself, Lily asked the question she had been burning to ask all week.

"James?"

"Hmm?" James responded, glancing up from his parchment.

"Can I see it?" Lily asked eagerly, leaning forward.

James looked puzzled for a moment, and then looked down at his pants.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Merlin's sake, not _that_."

"Oh." James' brow furrowed. "Then what?"

"Your Animagus form! Honestly, boys!"

Understanding dawned on James' face. "Oh, yeah that does make more sense."

Lily glared at him. "You think?"

James grinned sheepishly. "Sorry…. Sure, you can see it."

Lily watched him expectantly.

"Er, now?"

"Yes, now! No one's down here, go on, just for a second!"

James sighed and stood up. "Alright, but just for _one_ second."

Lily watched James eagerly as he walked to the center of the common room. Taking a deep breath, James closed his eyes, and suddenly, he wasn't there at all. In his place was a huge stag, snorting nervously.

"Oh!" Lily gasped, her eyes wide. She rose from her seat beside the fire and stepped towards the stag, reaching a hand out tentatively. After a moment's hesitation, she carefully stroked its head. It bunted its head gently against her hand and she laughed.

"You're beautiful," she said quietly, letting her hand drop and staring avidly at the stag.

Lily gazed at James in his Animagus form as James stared back at her. Lily opened her mouth to say something more, when suddenly someone shuffled out from the staircase and walked past the stag and Lily without glancing over.

"Hey Lily, hey Prongs," Sirius mumbled, stalking past them and pushing the portrait hole opened. Without another backward glance Sirius clambered through the portrait hole and it closed firmly behind him.

Lily stared at the stag in front of her, eyes wide and gaping. Before her eyes the stag disappeared and James reappeared, looking surprised but laughing quietly.

"Oh my god, we're lucky that was Sirius! Imagine if someone else had come down," Lily whispered, shuddering.

"Sirius gets up almost every night and blunders off to the kitchens for a midnight snack," James explained. "He's thick as a troll, that one. Didn't even seem to notice you standing beside a giant stag."

"I imagine he's seen you in your Animagus form so often it's become second nature to him," Lily reasoned, still looking shocked.

James looked at her with his eyebrows raised, fighting a smile. "What's that, I hear? Lily Evans defending _Sirius Black_? Merlin, he will love this, and here we always thought you weren't too fond of him."

"That's not true! I just, er, find him to be a bit of a handful," Lily argued, smiling.

James grinned. "Well, you're right on the mark there. Anyway, we'd best be off to bed. Transfiguration first thing tomorrow and Minnie _always_ puts me in detention for being late."

Lily gave a tinkling laugh that made James feel warm and fuzzy, and nodded. "Alright, then. I'll see you tomorrow."

The pair marched up the staircase together, then waved goodnight, Lily climbing the stairs on the left and James the stairs on the right.

* * *

The next day the Marauders and the seventh-year girls sat together at breakfast, talking loudly and eating quickly. They had become closer than any of them could have imagined in such a short time; Alice was patiently explaining to Remus the finer details of a very complex potion – Potions was the only class Remus struggled with, much to the glee of the other Marauders. James and Lily were discussing the classes for the day, along with Peter who was not looking forward to Transfiguration, as he was still unable to transform any inanimate objects into animals.

The only two people who were not participating in conversation were Dorcas and Sirius. They had, somehow, sat across from one another and both seemed to be regretting the seating arrangement. Sirius' eyes were darting around, gazing at everything around him other than the beautiful, confused witch in front of him. Dorcas kept her eyes down, staring at her plate, and occasionally glancing up at Sirius, only to see his eyes rolling every which-way, avoiding her.

Dorcas knew Sirius was avoiding her because she had made everything awkward. Clearly she had done something embarrassing in Hogsmeade and now he felt too uncomfortable to be her friend. He didn't know how to act around her, thinking she was another smitten girl, wanting him forever and always.

It angered her to think he would think of her in such a way, but she could draw no other conclusion. Stabbing a bagel viciously, Dorcas wished things could go back the way they had been before the trip to Hogsmeade, before she had said anything dumb to Sirius, before she had finally admitted to herself that he was the sexiest guy she had ever seen….

While Dorcas was moodily regretting whatever it was she thought she had done, Sirius was doing everything in his power to avoid her, snapping his eyes to glance at different objects so often he was getting dizzy. He was shaking off any feeling of remorse he got when he saw the confusion and hurt flash in Dorcas' eyes, or any jolt he felt in his stomach when he felt her eyes on him.

Sirius, unable to deny the truth to himself, had to admit he felt a slight attraction for the girl; a slight more than he had bargained for. This was unchartered territory for Sirius Black, however, and he felt no desire to delve deeper into unfamiliar waters. Instead, he raked his eyes along the Ravenclaw table, looking for a girl he could use as a distraction from the confused witch in front of him.

"Oy, Padfoot, let's go mate. We're going to be late for Transfiguration!" James shouted, waving a hand in front of Sirius' face.

Sirius shook his head, like a dog shaking water out of his fur, and jumped to his feet, grabbing his bag.

"You feeling alright, mate? You look a bit off," James said, peering into Sirius' face.

"I'm fine," Sirius said gruffly, still staring at the Ravenclaw table. Suzie Wiltshire, a short brunette with deep blue eyes who was known for being overly friendly with many boys around Hogwarts grinned at him coyly, and he shot a cheeky wink at her. "Or, at least, I will be."

And with that he sped out of the Great Hall, leaving his best friend watching him go curiously, wondering what the hell was going on.

* * *

That evening marked the Gryffindor Quidditch team's first practice of the year. James had been scribbling down notes furiously all day whenever a move he wanted to try out occurred to him. He had had tryouts a week prior, and had only recruited one new team member; a scrawny, blonde boy named Tyler Harper who played chaser, and was very agile and had surprisingly good aim.

James was taking his newly instated captaincy very seriously, and was found in the dressing rooms twenty minutes before practice was due to start, muttering to himself and drawing different plays on the drawing board. Finally his team convened around him, and after a brief pep-talk they were out on the sprawling green pitch.

James mounted his broom, holding the Quaffle firmly under one arm, and shot into the air, weaving through his team mates and racing towards the other end of the pitch. He threw the Quaffle easily into the middle hoop as keeper Miles Carey attempted to save it. James threw his team mate a cocky grin, but was soon forced to roll in mid-air as Jeannie Miller sent a bludger right at him.

"Stop being cocky, my dear captain, and keep your head in the game," she hollered as she past, grinning from ear to ear. James scowled teasingly at her and raced her to the other end of the stadium, laughing jovially.

Sirius, who was usually raucous and jovial during Quidditch practices, was putting a little too much energy into his Beating skills. He grimaced as he pelted a bludger away from him, causing the seeker William Fraser to duck quickly so as to avoid being hit in the back of the head, and it shot so far in the other direction the rest of the team stopped what they were doing to watch its progress.

As everyone turned to watch the bludger shoot away in the opposite direction, Sirius felt a leaden drop in his stomach as he noticed a familiar mane of long, swishy blonde hair making its way towards the stands. He shook his head and shot after the bludger, hoping to meet it before it made its way back towards him, so he could continue hitting it with all his might.

Dorcas perched herself onto the stands beside Lily, blowing on her fingers and scowling.

"It is bloody freezing, Lils, why are we down here again?"

"To support the Quidditch team!" Lily said, grinning. "I love Quidditch; I wish I knew how to fly!

Dorcas rolled her eyes and stamped her feet on the floor to try and warm them. The two girls watched as James snatched the Quaffle away from Colleen Bunden, the team's only girl chaser, and streaked towards the goalposts with it. He feigned leaning to the right, and as Miles made a swoop to his right, James threw the Quaffle through the left hoop, his grin visible from the stands.

Lily clapped loudly and cheered, while Dorcas rolled her eyes again and waved her hand in the air once to congratulate James. James did indeed look very pleased with this congratulation, although Dorcas suspected he hadn't even noticed her and was hopping for joy because Lily had, instead of cursing him to the fiery pits of hell, actually cheered him on.

"Y'know, generally a girl clapping and whooping because a boy makes a nice play in Quidditch means she fancies him," Dorcas said, yawning widely. Lily glared at her.

"There's a rulebook for it, is there? And in that case I suppose you've got something for Sirius, hmm? Because you looked about ready to cheer when he smacked that bludger away."

Dorcas cringed. "Yes, but I didn't cheer, and therein lies the difference."

Lily laughed. "Oh, shut up."

Dorcas mentally registered that, rather than denying any feelings for James, Lily had avoided the question. Dorcas opened her mouth to taunt her friend mercilessly, but closed it quickly. Quite honestly, Dorcas was just waiting for the moment when Lily would give up on her denial and finally agree to go out with James. Last year it had seemed an impossible idea, but with their fragile friendship growing stronger daily, Dorcas fully believed James had a much better chance with Lily than even he believed possible.

They continued to watch the Quidditch practice until night had practically fallen, and Dorcas put her foot down and refused to stay in the freezing cold October air for a moment longer. Walking back slowly to the school, Dorcas figured she ought to go to the library and look up antidotes for potions class so she wouldn't be even farther behind in Slughorn's class next day. Potions had become trickier than the seventh-years had expected this year, and Dorcas was determined to get a good NEWT in the course.

Waving farewell to Lily, Dorcas wandered to the library and grabbed a large tome on antidotes from one of the shelves. Sitting in a desk at the back, Dorcas forced her tired eyes open and began to read.

Just as she thought she may fall asleep at the table, Dorcas heard someone approaching her table. Her mind full of images of Sirius rushing up to apologize for avoiding her, or Lily deciding to admit hidden feelings for James, Dorcas was actually mildly disappointed to see Alice standing in front of her, smiling slightly.

"'Lo, Dorcas," she said quietly, sitting across from Dorcas and peering at her intently.

"Hey, Alice," Dorcas said, tossing her book aside and stifling a yawn.

Alice shuffled her feet rather awkwardly, and glanced at her hands folded together on top of the table.

"Dorcas…do you mind if I ask you something?" she asked quietly. Dorcas' eyebrows shot up in a panic; Alice was hardly ever quiet and when she was it didn't mean anything good.

"Of course," Dorcas said, shifting uncomfortably.

"Did…," Alice hesitated and then ploughed on. "Did anything happen between you and Sirius?"

Dorcas' mouth dropped in surprise. She hadn't expected _that_. "Uh… no. Why do you ask?"

"Well, the two of you have been acting rather odd since our little…_trip_ to Hogsmeade, and you didn't come to bed that night so I thought maybe…." Alice trailed off, glancing up at Dorcas.

Dorcas opened her mouth to tell Alice that she had slept in Remus' bed; that she and Sirius were completely fine and still trying to be friends, and that Alice must be imagining the awkwardness between them. When she opened her mouth, however, Dorcas instead told Alice everything she promised she wouldn't mention; how she had been so drunk she could have said anything to him, how she had been thinking how bloody gorgeous he was, how he had been studiously ignoring her for the past week and she wished she knew what she had done wrong.

Alice listened silently during Dorcas' whole rant. When Dorcas paused to take a breath, Alice looked up and said, "Dorcas, maybe you should talk to Sirius, and ask him…."

Dorcas cut across her swiftly. "No way, Alice. I don't want to hear what I said to make him feel so awkward, and I don't want to make him say it to me anyway. It's better like this; we never would have worked out as friends."

Alice showed every sign of wanting to interrupt, but Dorcas held up her hands. "Please don't badger me about this, Alice. I'm not asking him," she said flatly.

Alice looked like she was going to argue for a moment, but then muttered, "fine, Dorcas. Do it your way."

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Dorcas replied cheekily, and the two girls laughed, grabbing their bags and heading towards their dormitories together.

* * *

Sirius crept through the sleeping castle, dragging Suzie Wiltshire behind him, and holding the Marauders Map under his nose, making sure the corridors ahead were clear.

"Sirius, where are we going?" Suzie asked, putting her lips to his ear and giggling. Sirius grinned and pulled her down another flight of stairs into the dungeon.

"You'll see," he whispered, scampering down a long corridor and slowly pushing open a door on the left.

The room was dark and cold, with one window facing over the forest. There was a dark red blanket on the ground and a candle burning steadily on a rickety table.

"Oh Sirius, you did this for me?" Suzie gasped, her hand over her mouth.

Sirius didn't reply, but merely dragged her over to the blanket. In truth, Sirius had had this particular room set up since fourth year. The candle was an ever-burning candle, therefore always looking as though he had just prepared the room for whichever girl he ended up bringing down here.

Sirius pulled Suzie onto the blanket with him and immediately began kissing her, slowly at first, and then deeper. She moaned into his mouth and wrapped her arms around his neck, stroking his long black hair. Sirius gently pushed her onto her back, hovering over her, his arms supporting his weight. As he kissed her deeper, slipping his tongue into her mouth, he couldn't help but wonder how Dorcas would respond if he kissed her like this.

Sirius' eyes flew open as he realized where his thoughts had taken him, and he pulled away from Suzie quickly. Suzie's eyes fluttered open as she tried to control her breathing. She reached for him, moaning quietly. Sirius shook his head furiously and dipped his head to kiss her again, keeping his mind firmly focused on Suzie.

As they began to kiss deeper and more passionately, Sirius brought a hand up her stomach to graze her breast. She moaned and Sirius' mind strayed to Dorcas again, imagining her moan as he touched her, her grabbing his hair and pulling him in for another searing kiss….

Sirius pulled away again, gasping. What the hell was wrong with him? He was with a pretty, slutty girl and all he could think of was some other witch….some gorgeous witch, he ruefully admitted.

Sirius closed his eyes and continued his ministrations with Suzie, who seemed unaware of the internal battle occurring in Sirius' mind and was intent only upon having Sirius. As Sirius slid his hand under Suzie's skirt, he could do nothing to avoid the mental image of Dorcas, writhing in pleasure underneath him, moaning his name, planting kisses along his face, his neck, his chest….

Someone standing outside of the room Sirius and Suzie were presently occupying may have thought a bomb had gone off. Had they pressed their ear close to the door seconds before the yells erupted, they would have heard two moans, one from a young man and the other from of young woman. They also may have heard a young woman say in a throaty voice, "Oh Sirius." Had they been listening hard enough, they may, too, have heard the young man respond with, "Dorcas!"

After that, whether they had been standing right next to, or feet from the offending door, it would have been impossible to not hear the yell that erupted.

"DORCAS?! DORCAS?! MY NAME IS SUZIE YOU BLOODY GIT!"

Suzie grabbed her clothes throwing them on haphazardly and bolted from the room, shooting a withering glare at Sirius, who was still lying on the blanket, completely thunderstruck. As Suzie slammed the door behind her, Sirius dropped his head onto the blanket, sighing.

"Well, fuck."


	10. crazy moments

The next day proved to be a rather horrible day for everyone. Sirius awoke sullen and gloomy, and stayed that way for the remainder of the day. His mood was not helped by Dorcas studiously avoiding his eye, or Suzie glowering at him when he smiled meekly. His bad mood seemed to rub off on his friends, because by the time the group settled into Transfiguration class, they were all feeling rather sour.

"Well, class, I've marked your most recent assignment as a NEWT examiner would have done. Any passing grade is a great achievement, as we are now delving into the most complex area of Transfiguration," Professor McGonagall said briskly, shuffling the papers on her desk.

As she handed back the papers, Lily felt her heart race anxiously. She wasn't sure she had put in a great effort on this assignment – Transfiguration had always been her only weak point in her Hogwarts education. Holding her breath, Lily accepted her paper from McGonagall and carefully flipped it over to examine the mark.

"Lily? What's wrong?" James asked, alarmed at the tears pooling in Lily's eyes as she stared, horrified at her paper.

She glared at him and shook her paper under his nose. "P! I got a rotten P! How did this happen? How? I _hate_ Transfiguration!"

James glanced at the page she was waving in front of him and tried to fight back a laugh. As far as he could recall, this was the first ever failing grade Lily Evans had ever received.

"Oh, come on Lily, it's only one bad grade, don't – " James began but Lily cut across him, laughing derisively.

"Yeah, James, well that's how it all starts, first one failing grade on an assignment, then I'm failing a course, then next thing I know I'm doing drugs and drinking every night and soon enough I'll be kicked out of Hogwarts and my wand will be snapped in half!"

James stared at her, mouth agape. "Well when you put it that way…"

Lily threw her paper into her bag and rubbed her eyes furiously. She was feeling infuriated with herself. She always had problems with Transfiguration, and she should have spent more time working on the stupid assignment. She just didn't _get_ it. How should she know where her Vanished object went, or why it's more difficult to vanish puppies than mice?

"Look, Lily, Transfiguration is my best subject. If you want some help…or something. I mean, I could help you, if you want," James stuttered, feeling uncharacteristically nervous.

Lily's eyes snapped towards James, surprise etched on her face. She had gotten to know a much kinder, less arrogant side of James Potter over the past few months, but it still shocked her when she saw how mature he had become. Last year, James would have probably told her the reason she was failing Transfiguration was because she couldn't get his body off her mind, and perhaps a date with him would bring up her mark nicely. He probably would have added a wink, as well, which would have caused her to hex him right in front of McGonagall and the pair of them to be put in detention.

Realizing she still hadn't answered James, who now looked apprehensive, Lily quickly said, "Alright, as long as you don't mind. I just really don't get this stuff."

James smiled, relief evident on his face. "No problem, I can help you out tonight if you'd like?"

Lily mulled this over and then nodded. The sooner she brought her mark up, the better. "The library then, at seven."

"It's a date," James said happily. Lily's eyebrows shot up, making her look surprised and suspicious.

"Uh, that is to say, not a _date_ date, just a – er – _time _date. Date is used in many different contexts, makes the word a bit confusing really, but well…" James babbled on until Sirius hit him in the ribs from beside him, with his head buried in his other arm.

"She gets it Prongs. Shut up," He muttered, not raising his head.

James grinned sheepishly at Sirius, and then at Lily, then quickly focused on McGonagall, the blush on his neck receding slightly.

* * *

At seven o'clock that evening, James Potter found himself seated at a table in the library with his Transfiguration notes scattered around him, tapping his quill anxiously against his palm. He was ecstatic to have more alone time with Lily, but Sirius' parting remark had left him feeling rather uneasy.

"Sure, she's acting nice to you _now_, but one wrong move tonight and you're done, mate," Sirius had said bitterly. "Women. All the same, I reckon. Wouldn't waste my time if I were you. Oh, and by the way, you might want to make sure you call her by her _actual_ name. Apparently girls can get rather testy if you mix them up…"

At this comment the other three Marauders had stared incredulously at Sirius, who appeared not to notice. Remus, James and Peter exchanged loaded looks and understanding passed between them; whatever was going on with Sirius, none of them wanted to know about. He would, after all, come to them when he was ready to talk about it, and until then it was best not to cross him.

So here James sat, feebly attempting to convince himself that he would not do anything to jeopardize the extremely fragile friendship he now had with Lily, and sternly telling himself that if he _ever_ called Lily by another girl's name, his entire life would be over.

As he mulled this over in his mind, James didn't even notice Lily enter the library and take the seat across from him. Staring into his lap, James' neck cricked as he looked up upon hearing Lily clear her throat.

"Sorry, you looked a little…pensive," Lily mumbled, pulling her own Transfiguration notes out of her bag and placing them on the table.

James nodded, took a deep breath, and then smiled hesitantly. He felt a thrill of joy when she returned his careful smile.

"Right, so Transfiguration. Once you have the basics, it's easy enough to understand," James started, pulling a sheet toward him and examining it. "Would you rather start from the beginning, or did you have a particular area in mind?"

Lily blushed. "Er, I think we'd best start from the beginning."

James laughed, but nodded again and leaned forward to explain the first sheet to Lily.

* * *

"I'm bored," Sirius sighed, lying on his bed and frowning at the canopy. It was just he and Remus in the common room tonight as James was tutoring Lily and Peter was in detention for not handing in two of his Muggle Studies assignments.

"Well, why don't you read a book?" Remus suggested, lying on his own bed next to Sirius'.

Sirius propped himself up on his shoulders to look over at his friend incredulously.

Remus sighed. "Of course not, how foolish of me…. How about a game of chess?"

Sirius groaned. "It's so boring here. I wish it was full moon."

"I, unfortunately, cannot say the same," Remus said, frowning slightly. "Well, if you're so bored and you think my ideas are rubbish, what do _you_ want to do?"

Sirius thought for a moment and then grinned wickedly.

"Now, Moony, our very own Head Boy, being the stick in the mud that he is, is off _tutoring_ right now," Sirius shuddered but continued, "So he is, consequently, useless."

Remus eyed Sirius warily, wondering where this was going.

"How would you like to step in as co-prankster this evening, and we can pull an awesome prank without that goody-two shoes!"

Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius' beaming face. He was about to retort, saying he would rather stay out of detention for at least the first few months of school, but a feeling of recklessness consumed him at that moment, and he smirked.

"What prank would we pull though?"

Sirius looked surprised. "Blimey, Moony, I expected you to say no! I hadn't even thought up a prank we could do!"

Remus laughed. "Well, we could shoot off ever-lasting fireworks in the common room?"

Sirius shook his head. "Did that fourth year, remember?"

"Ah, so we did. Hang Mrs Norris by her tail from the chandelier?"

Sirius' lips twitched. "Not bad, but I was thinking something for the Slytherins. We owe them, I mean, it's already October and they haven't had any serious pranks played on them yet!"

"Well, what do you think we should do, then?" Remus asked, getting up from his bed and pacing the room.

"We could plant dungbombs in the Slytherin common room," Sirius suggested, grinning wickedly.

Remus groaned. "That is going to be rather difficult to do without getting caught," he pointed out.

"Who said anything about not getting caught?"

Remus refrained from rolling his eyes at his friend and sighed, giving in. "Right, well we're going to do our best to _not_ get caught. It's only October and I _am_ a prefect."

Sirius sighed dramatically. "Fine, fine, we'll bring the Cloak and the map. You don't happen to have any more of those dungbombs I gave you for your birthday last year, do you?"

"Hadn't found time to use them all, funnily enough," Remus muttered, rolling his eyes and procuring a large sack of dungbombs from his trunk.

"Excellent," Sirius said, laughing manically and ignoring the bemused look Remus was giving him.

"I have weird friends," Remus thought to himself as Sirius, still laughing, pulled the Invisibility Cloak out from under his bed and Remus grabbed the Marauder's Map off his desk.

* * *

"Right, so… now what?"

Remus and Sirius were standing outside a large stretch of bare wall in the dungeons, covered securely by the Cloak. Remus rounded on Sirius.

"What do you mean 'now what'?"

"Oh, come on, you're a bloody prefect! You must know the password?" Sirius hissed, shifting his weight from one foot to the other anxiously.

"Of course I don't! It changes every few weeks and besides only the Heads are given everyone's password."

Sirius groaned. "Well, bloody fuck. I have a huge satchel of dungbombs here, Slytherins just a dungeon wall away and we can't get in?"

Remus opened his mouth to retort, when they heard footsteps hurrying behind them.

Forgetting they were already invisible, Remus and Sirius dived behind a suit of armour, peering around it cautiously. Remus felt Sirius stiffen as Regulus Black, Sirius' younger brother, stepped up to the blank wall and mumbled, "Parseltongue".

They watched as the wall slid to one side and Regulus stepped through, into the Slytherin common room.

"Right, well, that good for nothing Voldemort supporter sure saved your arse," Sirius muttered as he and Remus stood in front of the wall yet again, which had slid closed. "Check who's in the common room."

Remus opened his mouth indignantly but gave a weary shrug and opened the map. He usually didn't condone this sort of thing, but the Slytherins had been particularly nasty over the past month, now that so many of them had obviously joined the ranks of Voldemort. Remus secretly thrilled in the fact that playing a simple prank like this felt like he was doing _something_ to show that he despised Voldemort and his supporters.

"Avery, Bellatrix, the two Lestranges, some people I've never heard of, says here Jenna McIver and Thomas Retton, and of course, Regulus," Remus reeled off, his eyes scanning the map.

Sirius sighed. "It'll have to do. Hopefully their screams will alert the rest of the slimy snakes to come down, although as long as Bellatrix is there, I'm satisfied."

Remus' noticed Sirius' face twist in hatred as he mentioned his cousin, but neither of them said anything more. Both clutching a dungbomb, Remus whispered, "Parseltongue."

The wall slid open again and several Slytherins looked up, confused.

"Why'd the wall open?" Rodolphus Lestrange asked the room at large, looking confused.

Several people shrugged, but most looked disinterested. Bellatrix looked rather unhappy in her current position; she was squished between the Lestrange brothers, glaring into the fire and tapping her wand against her knee.

Remus and Sirius carefully stepped around the Slytherins, hiding dungbombs in various places as they circled the room. Remus was beginning to feel very idiotic; he should have known this was a bad idea from the start. Getting caught in the Slytherin common room was not a wise decision on any given day, especially with the latest rumourings of so many Voldemort supporters who were still at school.

They had nearly emptied the bag of dungbombs when Remus tugged on Sirius' sleeve and motioned to the wall. Sirius nodded and they slowly made their way back to the exit of the common room.

"Oh, Regulus, dear, how is your blood-traitor brother doing these days? I heard he ran away from home, the poor wittle baby," Bellatrix said, cackling. "Couldn't handle his scawy pawents? Ha!"

Remus saw Sirius' face, contorted with fury and hatred, and knew what he was about to do. He made frantic gestures under the Cloak but Sirius ignored him as he grabbed one of the remaining dungbombs and flung it at Bellatrix's head.

Bellatrix began screaming and as Rodolphus and his brother Rabastan leaped from the couch, the dungbombs Remus and Sirius had hid under the couch went off as well. Before they knew it, the common room was full of exploding dungbombs and Slytherins yelling and cursing.

Remus grabbed Sirius' arm and the two ran full-tilt to the wall yelling, "Parseltongue, Parseltongue," repeatedly. It slid open and just as they were about to go through it, Remus tripped over Avery, who had been running blindly, covering his nose and mouth with one hand.

The Cloak slipped off and Remus picked it up and continued to run, he and Sirius very visible to the fuming Slytherins.

"YOU!" Bellatrix screamed, pointing her wand at their backs and firing spells. Sirius and Remus ran out of the common room and dived behind the suit of armour as the wall slid closed behind them.

Breathing heavily, the two boys peered around the suit of armour. No Slytherin had followed them out, but they could still hear the screams and howls from inside the common room.

"Well, that was… the stupidest thing… I have done… in a while," Remus panted, leaning against the wall.

Sirius looked over at him and Remus looked over at Sirius. They heard the shrieks and cries from the common room, mainly Bellatrix and Avery, and they couldn't help it.

They burst out laughing.

Remus slid onto the floor, tears streaming down his face as he roared with laughter, and Sirius hung onto the suit of armour for dear life, his bark-like laugh reverberating off the walls.

Had the boys stopped laughing for a moment they may have thought that they ought to leave the 'scene of the crime' so as to avoid detention. They, however, did no such thing and continued to howl with laughter until they heard a wheezy cough from above them.

Looking up, they both saw Argus Filch standing over them, looking triumphant. His cat, Mrs Norris, mewed balefully at the pair.

"Well, well, well… thought you would cause some extra work for me tonight, did you? Didn't think you caused enough trouble over the last six years, no, you had to _continue_ to make my life a personal hell," he growled, and the boys tried desperately to control their laughter. Filch had always loathed the boys, and the feeling had, for the most part, been mutual.

"We didn't…" Sirius tried hopefully, but Filch cut him off.

"Detention! Detention tomorrow evening, for you both! 6 pm in the trophy room, and I'll want every plaque looking spotless!"

Sirius opened his mouth, to say something obnoxious, no doubt, but Remus elbowed him hard in the ribs, and they both remained silent. After glaring unimpressively at the two for a moment, Filch growled.

"Get out of here, then, back to your dorms," he spat, turning his back on the two and entering the Slytherin common room with his mop and bucket, screams still resonating throughout the room.

They walked silently back to their common room, both feeling rather giddy considering they had just been given detention.

"That was _so_ worth it," Sirius chuckled, as they entered their dormitories and flopped back onto their beds.

Remus chuckled from the bed beside him, not agreeing or disagreeing. Being of age, Remus knew that he, at least, should uphold his 'maturity' and stop all the pranking. But, he thought wryly, life was a lot harder outside the walls of Hogwarts than it was on the inside. And while he was here, he figured they ought to make the best of their final year of care-free fun.

* * *

"So do you understand it a little better?" James asked hesitantly, after almost two hours. He wanted to be helpful to Lily, and he thought she had seemed to understand what he was saying, but he wanted to make absolutely sure.

"Yes, that makes much more sense," Lily said happily, brushing some loose hair out of her bright eyes. "I never understood any of this before, you're a really good teacher."

James smiled, his stomach doing somersaults. "Nah, you're just a really fast learner."

He looked up and felt startled at how close they were. He had been so deeply involved in his explanations that he hadn't really noticed when he pulled his chair around to her side of the desk. They were now sitting so close together their arms were almost brushing.

Lily looked up and her gaze met his.

"Well, thank you anyway. I would have been totally lost if you hadn't helped me. I know it's not really your thing, studying…the library," she gave a tinkling laugh and James felt goose bumps erupt along the back of his neck.

"No, I don't mind. The only reason I never come in here is because Sirius would disown me. He's written several rules for us actually, and one is 'no self-respecting Marauder will ever be permitted to enter the library unless with a girl, and with no textbooks in the immediate area'. Good thing we had notebooks," James added, grinning.

Lily laughed again. "He is rather strange, you know."

"I know," James replied, his mouth rather dry. She had not looked away yet, and try as he might to prevent it, his gaze dropped to her lips.

Wrenching his gaze back up to her eyes, James saw her lean in slightly, almost subconsciously. He remembered Sirius' bitter words before he had left for the library, and James knew exactly what would happen if he closed the space between them and kissed Lily right now. She would slap him, hex him and then never speak to him again.

Before this could happen, James leant away and grabbed his notebook, stuffing his sheets into it.

"Right, well, I better get back to the dormitory. I've got to do that Potions essay, but if you need any more help just let me know," he stuttered, shoving his notebook into his bag. With a hasty wave, he half-walked half-ran out of the library.

Lily stared incredulously at the spot where James had disappeared, her eyes wide. For one crazy moment she had been sure James had been about to kiss her. For an even crazier moment she had decided she wouldn't move away.

And for the craziest moment of her life, Lily had been excited that James was about to kiss her.

So why the bloody hell did he run out?

* * *

The next day James and Lily were very polite to one another, although they barely spoke. James was convinced he had almost ruined his chances at a friendship with Lily, and constantly berated himself for almost kissing her. He knew she had noticed their almost-kiss and he was terrified she was going to get angry at him.

Therefore, he was very surprised when she did nothing. She shot him several confused glances throughout the day, but made no mention of the other evening, except to thank him once again for tutoring her.

Lily herself was completely stumped as to what had happened the other evening. Had she honestly been _excited_ for James Potter to kiss her? This didn't seem right, mainly because she had spent six years of her life vehemently exclaiming that she would rather become a nun then go on one date with James, let alone kiss him.

And besides, why _hadn't_ he kissed her? The James Potter she knew would not have passed up an opportunity like that. If he was supposed to be 'in love' with her, then why did he make no attempt to date her in the past two months?

Ignoring the fact that last night something had definitely stirred inside her, Lily told herself she was glad James seemed to be over her. Now they could be professional, and they could actually be friends. She felt nothing more for her co-Head and although one watching the two converse last night may have believed they were looking into each others eyes, Lily convinced herself she had merely spotted a piece of dirt on James' glasses, and was so repulsed she couldn't look away.

Yeah, right.

Dorcas sat beside her best friend, unaware of the turmoil going on through her head. She moodily stirred her porridge and ignored the boy that had starred in her dreams as of late.

Sirius Black made no attempt to speak to, or even look at Dorcas over the past week. She had noticed him casting her rather bitter looks the other day, although she couldn't possibly understand what she had done to merit such scowls. She had decided her plan of attack was to ignore Sirius and to forget about any feelings she felt towards him. After all, it's not like she had ever dated, or even hooked up with him. She had no reason to be holding on to such foolish feelings. Mentally shaking herself, Dorcas continued to glare silently into her porridge.

"Y'know, I feel awkwardness just _seeping_ out of your four," Alice piped up, her forehead creasing in confusion, "Hey, Remus, maybe we should act terribly awkward with one another so we can fit in too."

Remus laughed, but Sirius, James, Lily and Dorcas glared at Alice.

"We're not acting awkward," Sirius and Lily said at the same time.

"Why would we be?" Dorcas and James said together.

Alice looked completely bemused, as did Remus who was now frowning.

Alice glanced at Remus and Peter. "Okay, I'm not totally crazy, right? Something is clearly going on, right?"

Peter shrugged, looking at the group curiously. Beside him, Remus shook his head and continued to eat his cereal, trying to not get involved.

"Nothing's going on, Alice," Lily said, trying to act nonchalant. "Seriously, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Alice stared suspiciously into the four sets of eyes looking at her; some like she was crazy and others like they wanted her to drop the subject, _now_.

"Alright," she said, shrugging and grabbing her bag. "I'm off to meet Frank before class, then."

Without another word she got up and flounced over to the Hufflepuff table, kissing her boyfriend chastely on the cheek.

The moment she left the awkwardness between the four became apparent as they all glanced in opposite directions, leaving a completely confused Remus and Peter to glance around, uncomprehending.

* * *

"I – bloody – _hate_ – that – git," Sirius panted, scrubbing frantically at a large plaque.

He and Remus were serving their detention in the trophy room and Sirius, who had been in a sour mood all day, was venting his anger.

"Come on, Sirius, we completely bombarded the Slytherin common room and only got one detention. That's nothing," Remus said reasonably, placing a trophy back on the shelf and reaching for another one.

Sirius merely growled, chucking his cloth on the ground and scowling at the plaque he had been scrubbing for the past fifteen minutes. Remus continued cleaning, but Sirius began sighing loudly and making other frustrated noises without speaking.

Finally, after a particularly loud sigh from Sirius, Remus put a trophy back on the shelf and turned around, arms folded.

"Okay, are you going to tell me why you've been in such a bad mood these past two days, or are you just going to continue sighing?" He asked irritably.

Sirius sighed once more before saying, "It's nothing…"

Remus glared at him.

"Alright, alright, fine," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. He told Remus all about his fiasco date with Suzie Wiltshire and how he had said Dorcas' name.

"…And then she gets all pissed and runs out yelling at me for saying the wrong name," Sirius said moodily, glaring at nothing in particular.

Remus burst out laughing, causing Sirius to turn his glare onto his friend.

"Sorry, it just makes sense now. Two nights ago Bobby Falcon ran into the common room after his detention with Slughorn, muttering about some 'foolish prat not remembering his own girl's name' and how 'some people could be plain daft'."

Sirius continued to glare and Remus immediately turned his laugh into a cough. Sirius turned his attention back to the wall, shrugging. "Well, that's why."

Remus eyed Sirius warily. "So… you have been very angry these past two days because you were shagging Suzie, but during the deed you yelled out another girl's name, causing Suzie to be furious with you and leave angrily, right?"

Sirius nodded.

"And… there's no other reason?" Remus asked tentatively. Sirius looked at him quickly.

"No. Should there be another reason?"

Remus thought of his next words carefully, as Sirius' eyes narrowed.

"Well, I don't know. Why do you think you said Dorcas' name?" He asked slowly.

"Dunno," Sirius said quickly. Remus raised his eyebrows and Sirius sighed.

"It's probably because I planned on proving James wrong and shagging Dorcas this year. After that night we had in Hogsmeade I just didn't really feel like trying anymore, but maybe I subconsciously still just wanted to be able to get her," Sirius reasoned, shrugging.

Remus looked calculating. "Why don't you want to try anymore, Sirius? Did she do something wrong?"

Sirius shook his head. "Of course not, she didn't do anything wrong." He noticed Remus' eyebrows raise even higher and quickly backtracked. "She's just… not my type."

"Hmm. Tall, blonde and beautiful isn't your type?" Remus asked quietly.

Sirius bit his lip. "She'd be too demanding. She wouldn't be the type to shag and then ditch."

"Funny you say that, because she hasn't had an actual boyfriend ever, and always ends things pretty quickly. Everyone knows that."

Sirius scowled at the ground and tried to think of another plausible reason for not wanting Dorcas.

"Sirius… do you…I mean, do you _like_ Dorcas?" Remus asked after a moment of silence.

"No!" Sirius said indignantly. "Of course not. That's just ridiculous."

Remus gave him a look and Sirius sighed.

"I _don't_ like girls. Ever. She's no exception. I just can't be bothered to chase her. There's plenty more girls around here. She's not the only one," Sirius muttered, standing up and continuing to scrub the plaques along the wall.

Remus opened his mouth to say something else, but thought better of it and quickly closed it. He was not an idiot and knew that pressing the matter would only infuriate Sirius. He now knew, however, what exactly was causing the awkwardness between Dorcas and Sirius. If he didn't know better he would say his best friend, at age seventeen, was experiencing his first crush.

**A.N : I completely suck because I promise updates quickly and then I go and take forever. I have worse news to add; my exams are coming up and updates will be difficult. I'll try to post the next chapter before exam review really kicks in though!**

**So we find out Sirius has a little something for our dear Dorcas. Sirius with a crush! Millions of hearts are currently breaking, haha. Also, Lily almost **_**kissing **_**James Potter?! Craziness, as she so thoughtfully put it.**

**Review and let me know how you liked the chapter! I made it a little longer to appease you all, so please forgive me for the slowness! **


	11. arrogant jerks

November blew, dreary and windy, across the grounds of Hogwarts. Hagrid could be seen stumping along the grounds wearing his huge moleskin overcoat, and the lake had slowly begun to freeze over as the air got colder.

Not only was the air now colder, but the seventh-year Gryffindors seemed to grow cooler with the change in climate.

"I don't get it! What happened? We were so good," James whined, flopping onto his bed and looking defeated.

Remus, Peter and Sirius glanced at one another, and then went back to what they were doing; Remus reading a book, Sirius stuffing his face with Chocolate Frogs and Peter doodling idly on a piece of parchment.

For the past week James had driven his roommates crazy with incessant talk about Lily. At first James had been ecstatic to find out that Lily wasn't mad at him for his almost kiss in the library, and was thrilled when she didn't scream at him or hex him.

However, it had been a week since the incident, and Lily had barely said five words to James. She politely reminded him that they had to patrol on Friday evening, but didn't say anything to him during the entire patrol, other than to nod her head when he spoke or reply quietly if he asked a question. It was the least they had ever talked during a patrol. Other than patrolling, or reminding him of certain Head duties, Lily had been considerably cooler towards James that she had been all year. She didn't insult him, hex him, or even pay him any attention at all. And it was killing him.

"Seriously guys, please help me out," James whined again, yanking the Chocolate Frogs away from Sirius and glaring at him. "You are the King of understanding girls! What did I do?"

Sirius groaned, eyeing his Chocolate Frogs wistfully. "Hell if I know, mate. Evans has always been a weird bird. I've no clue what you've done to fuck it up, or how you're going to fix it. Ask Remus, he's the sensible one."

James shoved the Frogs back in Sirius' hands and scowled. "Lily is _not_ a weird bird," he pouted. He glanced over to Remus, who was studiously keeping his book in front of his face, hoping desperately that James would give up.

"Moony," James whimpered, batting his eyelashes from behind his round glasses. Remus held his book firmly in front of his face, refusing to give in. "Moony, Moony, Moony, Moon-"

"What?!" Remus snapped, tossing his book down and glaring at his friend. James grinned and then immediately turned his mouth into a pout.

"What did I do to make Lily hate me?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "James, you have asked us all a million times. I still don't know the answer. There must be something you're forgetting to tell us about that evening."

"There's not!" James practically shouted, running a hand through his hair. "We studied for hours, we were just talking and she was looking at me so _obviously_ I was looking back and next thing I know I'm leaning in to kiss her! Of course, once I realized what was about to happen I bolted out of there! She would have hexed my balls off if I had kissed her, so what the bloody hell is bothering her now?"

"Maybe she wanted you to kiss her," Peter suggested, snorting with laughter and not looking up from his drawing.

The entire dorm went silent as the other three processed this recent revelation. Peter looked up curiously to see why they had all gone silent, and was surprised to see them staring at him.

"What?" He asked, feeling self-conscious.

"Peter, I – I think that's it," Remus said, sounding stunned. Whether because Peter had understood something even though his three best friends hadn't or that Lily had actually wanted James to kiss her, no one was quite sure.

"Oh my bloody Merlin, it _is_?!" Sirius asked in a high voice, his final Frog dropping to the floor and rolling under the bed.

James looked at his friends sadly.

"Guys…stop it. That's not it. Of course that's not it."

"What makes you say that?" Remus asked logically, as if they were discussing a homework problem and not _the_ Lily Evans wanting to kiss _the_ James Potter.

"Well for one, Wormtail came up with this idea, so it's pretty unlikely from the start," James reasoned, the other three shrugging and nodding. "Also, it's Lily, guys. She wouldn't want me to kiss her in a thousand years. She made me promise never to ask her out again, remember?"

"Yeah, mate, but she never made you promise not to kiss her," Sirius said, wagging his eyebrows. James glared at him and he shrugged. "Just saying."

"James, I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit. You're usually the first to find hidden meaning in Lily's words, especially when it's not there, but you can't see the first time she actually shows any inclination towards liking you?" Remus asked, one eyebrow raised.

James groaned. "Listen, I just got used to the idea of only being friends with her, and I don't want to get my hopes up over nothing. I just…want it to go back to how it was before that tutoring session."

Remus, Sirius and Peter glanced at one another helplessly. They had barely ever seen James looking so downcast, and they weren't sure how to help him.

"Sorry mate, we'll help you try and be friends with her again, yeah?" Sirius said, clapping James on the back.

"Thanks, Padfoot. I think I'm just going to go get some food from the kitchens or something," James mumbled, shuffling out of the room and closing the door behind him.

Sirius let out a low whistle. "This is bad, guys. We best figure out how to get James and Lily back to a somewhat-friendly level before he loses his mind."

Remus nodded. "Don't do anything yet, though. Let's give her a day or two."

The other two nodded and went back to their previous tasks, Peter continuing to draw and Sirius searching for his final Chocolate Frog.

Remus picked up his book but didn't concentrate on the words he was staring at. His brain was whirring, and Remus decided he would have to forget for a few minutes that he was a prefect and do something he certainly shouldn't. He was going to switch the patrolling timetable around before Lily could finalize it that evening. After all, it was about time somebody found out what was going on with Lily, and Remus had the perfect idea.

* * *

That evening Dorcas, Lily and Alice sat in their favorite armchairs by the fire, working on their Charms essays. This week at Hogwarts should have felt more normal to the girls, as they had hardly interacted with the Marauders. Although a year ago it would have been a perfectly average week to have not spoken to one of the Marauders, the girls were finding this week to be a strange one.

Lily had not confided in her friends the occurrences of her tutoring session with James, although it had become clear the next day that _something_ had happened. Alice and Dorcas however, were stumped. Lily had been quite polite to James the next morning, but the coolness emanating off of her caused the other two girls to practically shudder. The odd friendship that had struck up between James and Lily seemed to have disappeared completely. Yet, instead of going back to her previous hatred of the Marauder, Lily seemed now to be completely indifferent towards him. It was very puzzling, yet try as they might, Alice and Dorcas could not get any information out of Lily.

Now that the friendship between James and Lily had been extinguished, and Dorcas and Sirius still remained silent towards one another, the seventh year girls had slowly reverted back to their old ways of practically ignoring the Gryffindor boys. Although they still sat with them at meals, the only conversation that occurred was Alice forcing conversation with the boys, or James asking Lily questions in an attempt to get her to speak to him.

Dorcas had confronted Lily about what had gone on between her and James several times, but Lily refused to speak about it. Normally this would not hinder Dorcas is any way, but secretly she was sort of relieved that they were no longer constantly hanging around the Marauders. Dorcas could ignore Sirius as much as she wanted, but her attraction to him would not be diminished. She felt stupid and childish for having any such feelings towards the playboy of Hogwarts, but it didn't stop her from feeling them. With firm conviction she spent most of her time ignoring Sirius, and the rest of the time reminding herself why she was ignoring.

As Dorcas continued with this thought process, explaining to herself for the millionth time that boys were nothing but trouble, and thinking it quite obvious that she would want the most troublesome boy she could find, a shadow fell across her paper. Glancing up, Dorcas looked into the stormy grey eyes of said troublesome boy.

"Hello, Meadowes," Sirius acknowledged, grinning awkwardly.

Dorcas stared up at him stonily. Why the bloody hell was he speaking to her again? And just where did he get the nerve to play her hot and cold like this?

"Back to last names, are we Black?" She replied icily. Sirius looked mildly surprised at her tone, but quickly rearranged his mouth into a flippant grin.

"Guess so," he replied. Behind him, Lily and Alice were gaping at the pair, quills held in mid-air as they watched the conversation between Sirius and Dorcas.

Dorcas sighed, "What do you want?"

Sirius shrugged. "Just wanted to say hello. Is that a crime now?"

"It should be. Why the bloody hell are you talking to me after a month of treating me like a leper? Am I supposed to be thankful that you've decided I'm worth talking to again? Grateful that 'Sirius Black' has deemed me worthy of his time?"

The few people that were still in the common room glanced around as Dorcas' voice rose angrily. The remaining first years scampered off to bed, leaving the Marauders, Dorcas, Lily and Alice, and a sixth year girl who seemed eager to watch Sirius Black be taken down a few pegs.

Sirius couldn't hide the shock crossing his face. Girls hardly _ever_ spoke like that to him. Sure, they freaked out when he ditched them, or when they found him with another girl. But with a few smooth lines, he could usually get out of whatever trouble he was in. At the very least she would shout and run off, but cruel mocking was not something he got from _anyone_. Other than his friends, of course, who couldn't help but mock him on occasion.

"No, but I don't see why you're getting so worked up. I didn't do anything wrong," Sirius replied arrogantly, crossing his arms.

Dorcas' eye twitched with anger. She noticed Remus put his head in his hands, looking disbelieving.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Dorcas repeated. "No, I suppose you didn't. You're just an arrogant ass who was all set to be 'friends' one second and then suddenly ignores me like I'm bloody invisible."

"Meadowes, I'm curious, why do you care so much? Miss me?" Sirius smirked.

Dorcas' hands balled into fists and she had to focus on controlling her breathing so she wouldn't punch him square in the nose.

"Ha. As if. Keep dreaming, Black. I wouldn't miss you if I never saw you again," she spat, glowering at him so much he actually stepped back. "I'm merely wondering why you're talking to me right now. It was such a nice change to not hear your voice, see. I was getting rather used to it, but you're sort of ruining the peacefulness of it all."

Sirius opened his mouth uncertainly, closed it, and then opened it again. Dorcas felt oddly satisfied to see him floundering for words.

"You seem pretty pissed about it, Meadowes. I just came over to talk, there's no need to bite my head off."

"Well, dear Black, I _don't_ want to talk to you. So bugger off, you're wasting my time."

Sirius felt a flicker of annoyance towards the witch. Why couldn't she just get over herself?

"Actually Meadowes, I rather like sitting by the fire, and seeing as this _is_ the common room, I can sit anywhere I like," he retorted, and he flopped onto the arm of her chair.

Dorcas exhaled sharply, and reached down to grab her bag, while Sirius smirked triumphantly at the other six people staring at him. Suddenly, Dorcas whipped her bag around, smacking Sirius on the back of his head and causing him to fall face-first off the chair onto the rug at her feet.

"Oops," Dorcas said, placing her bag back beside her chair and practically sneering at Sirius.

Sirius leapt to his feet and glared contemptuously at Dorcas, who smiled back sweetly. Turning on his heel Sirius stormed out of the common room, muttering all the way up to his dorm.

Dorcas grabbed her quill and was about to continue with her essay when she noticed six pairs of eyes staring at her incredulously.

"What?" She asked defensively.

No one spoke, until finally the sixth year girl stood up, beaming.

"I don't know what Sirius did to you, but that was bloody brilliant! That git messed around with me in fourth year and never spoke to me again, and I must say watching you completely humiliate him felt pretty good. Thanks!"

"Er, you're welcome?" Dorcas said, sounding confused.

The girl laughed and flipped her long brown hair. "I'm Mary, Mary McDonald."

"Dorcas Meadowes," Dorcas mumbled, feeling a little awkward as everyone continued to stare at her.

"Oh, I know," Mary replied. "Well, I'm off to bed, but I guess I'll see you around!" With that the girl turned and marched towards the staircase leading to the girl's dormitory.

"What was that about?" Dorcas asked her two friends, turning to look at them. They stared back, shocked.

"We should ask you the same thing," Lily said in a strangled voice.

Dorcas shrugged, feeling her cheeks flush. "Nothing. That prat just had it coming."

"Care to elaborate?" Alice asked tentatively.

Dorcas shot a look at her. "Seemed pretty clear to me."

"Dorcas –" Alice began but Dorcas glared at her and then stared pointedly at the three remaining Marauders who were watching them closely.

"Fine, we know when we're not wanted. We'd rather go bug Sirius anyway," James said, grinning. He stood up from his chair and led the other two up the staircase to their dormitory.

As they heard the door close behind the boys, Lily and Alice turned to stare at Dorcas expectantly.

Dorcas groaned. "Guys, I don't want to talk about this."

"Well, too bad. I have no idea what is going on here! Is this why you have been so quiet the past few weeks?" Lily asked, looking confused.

Dorcas nodded, frowning. "Okay, well you know how Sirius and I were trying to be 'friends' and all that. Well, when we got back from Hogsmeade that night I must have fallen asleep, because when I woke up, I was in Remus' bed. Lils, relax, I was completely dressed and Sirius was in his own bed," she added seeing Lily's eyebrows sky-rocket.

Lily nodded and motioned for Dorcas to continue.

"Well after that he just…stopped talking to me. I don't know why, but he's said maybe five words to me since then. Not counting tonight, of course," she said with a slight laugh. "I'm just pissed at him. How dare he ignore me completely for something I didn't even _know_ I did, and then talk to me again and expect it to be all good? The arrogant jerk," she muttered.

"He is a bloody prat," Alice agreed, reaching over and patting Dorcas' hand. Dorcas smiled at her.

"Whatever. I _don't _care, as long as he just leaves me alone."

"Hmm," Lily mused, looking calculating. Dorcas sighed.

"What, Lily?"

"Dorcas, you don't… _like_ Sirius or anything, do you?" She asked hesitantly.

Dorcas' jaw dropped. "No! No, of course not," she answered hastily. Lily and Alice stared at her sceptically.

"I don't like him. He's a bloody git. He might be gorgeous, but there's no denying that he's a prick."

Lily nodded in understanding and Alice looked convinced.

"Listen guys, I'm really tired. I'm going to bed, I'll have to finish this essay tomorrow. Night."

Lily and Alice murmured goodnight and watched as Dorcas exited the common room. Hearing the door close, they turned to stare at each other.

"She's got it bad, hasn't she?"

"Oh, yeah."

* * *

"Sweet Merlin that girl is irritating!" Sirius ranted, pacing back and forth in his dormitory. James, Remus and Peter sat on their beds, watching him silently.

"The nerve she has, being such an icy bitch! I didn't do anything to her, it's not like we were best bloody mates or something! We barely spoke! Merlin, does she need to get over herself or what?"

The boys remained silent but Sirius rambled on without waiting for an answer.

"And how _dare_ she smack me in the back of the head! She could have seriously hurt me! Clearly she's so self-centered she didn't even stop to consider that I just wanted to have a polite conversation. Or that hitting people bloody hurts!" At this Sirius subconsciously rubbed his head, growling furiously.

"She's a piece of work, that one is. No wonder I didn't speak to her for the past month. Bloody crazy, I swear."

The three boys still remained silent, although Remus couldn't help but roll his eyes at this last statement.

"I saw that, Moony! You guys know I'm right, right?" Sirius asked, glancing at his friends.

Peter glanced at James and Remus frantically, and quickly yawned loudly. Remus and James, getting the hint, yawned obnoxiously as well.

"We really should be getting to bed," James muttered, throwing off his robes and light speed and changing into his pajamas.

"Yeah," said Remus, grabbing his pyjamas and also throwing them on, eager to get away from Sirius' glare.

Peter nodded, and, not even bothering to change his clothes, he hopped into his bed and pulled the drapes tightly closed.

Sirius growled. "Guys! Tell me what you really think!"

James and Remus hesitated and then turned to look at Sirius.

"You're a bloody git."

"And you were pretty rude to her."

"You clearly fancy her."

"And you're a bloody git."

Sirius flapped his hands at them to get them to stop. "First off, I _don't_ fancy her, Moony! And second, I am _not_ a git."

Remus scowled. "Yes you do, and yes you are. Why can't you just admit it? And even if you can't do that, why can't you be civil towards her?"

"I tried! She bit my head off the second I spoke to her!"

"You had ignored her for a month though," James pointed out sternly.

Sirius threw his hands up. "Well then how am I supposed to be civil to her? Apparently I already ruined it because I ignored her!"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Just be a little less arrogant, a little more understanding, and maybe call her by her first name again? Calling her 'Meadowes' obviously didn't warm her to you."

Sirius groaned. "She is one insane witch. Not only does she freak out at me when I'm _only_ trying to be nice, but she has you guys falling for her little tricks too! Merlin, birds are manipulative."

James and Remus glared at Sirius, arms folded.

"Fine," Sirius sighed dramatically. "I'll 'be nice'. But she better be nice in return."

Remus grinned. "That I can't promise. Although I think once she finds out you fancy her she'll be a little nicer to you. Or a little meaner, she is quite unpredictable."

Sirius threw a pillow at Remus, his expression livid. "Moony you prat, I _do not_ fancy her!"

"He seems to be rather furious for someone who claims to not like her though, doesn't he?" James mused, peering at Sirius inquisitively. Sirius aimed his next pillow at James' head. James ducked it swiftly and laughed.

"Quite a reaction out of someone who doesn't care about her," Remus agreed, ducking another pillow and high-fiving James as he passed him.

"Argh!" Sirius shouted, throwing down his pillow. "You two are bloody gits. I don't fancy girls, and I certainly don't fancy Dorcas. Now bugger off."

Sirius pushed past his friends and marched into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

"You can come out now, Peter," James called. "Sirius is in the bathroom now, denying profusely his love for Dorcas. We all know that's utter rubbish though. The looks he was shooting her made me want to be sick."

"Shut up, Prongs before I come out there and hex your balls off!"

"See what happens when you get between Sirius and his lady?" Remus asked sternly. "Be careful about it Peter, he's a right jealous prat, isn't he Prongs?"

"Shut up you two, shut up!" Sirius shouted from the bathroom

"Only about his one and only love, Moony. And by that, I mean Dorcas of course."

"Argh!"

* * *

The next day Sirius made no attempt to speak to Dorcas again, although the one time they made eye contact he glared at her. In response, she lifted her bag threateningly, causing the other Marauders to howl with laughter, especially as Sirius flinched away from it.

Lily was extra quiet throughout the day, barely speaking to anyone and always looking deep in thought. It took Remus several tries to finally get her attention at dinner.

"I'm patrolling with you tonight, Lily. One of the fifth years had a scheduling conflict, and it changed around the whole schedule," he lied smoothly. The only hint of his lying was a slight tinge of red to his ears, but Lily seemed not to notice.

"Oh, alright then. I'll meet you by the portrait hole at eight," she responded vaguely, going back to her meal.

At eight that evening Lily greeted Remus at the portrait hole and the two began their patrol of the castle.

Originally, Remus had thought his plan to be a brilliant one. Getting Lily alone was a difficult feat – she was usually with Dorcas and Alice, and even when she wasn't to be around her without James was almost an impossibility, and so patrolling was the only time Remus would get. Now that they were here, however, Remus was unsure as to how to bring up his desired topic.

Lily saved him from his worry, however, as she brought it up herself.

"So, er, how's James doing?" She asked awkwardly, peering into a broom cupboard to avoid her slight blush.

Remus paused. "He's okay," he answered carefully. "He's been better, I suppose."

Lily looked at him, surprised. "Really? Is something wrong?"

Remus didn't miss the concern in her eyes, and felt a hope that maybe he was on to something.

"Well, I'm not really sure. He's just been so…different lately. Moping, not speaking much, not eating much…." He trailed off. This was stretching the truth to breaking point; James' appetite had certainly not decreased and he was still fairly loud, although he had become a little more reserved since his tutoring session with Lily.

Lily frowned. "That doesn't sound like him. I wonder what's wrong."

Remus arranged his face into a sad, confused look. "I've really no idea. I wish I could help him, but he won't tell any of us what's wrong."

Remus thought he saw a flash of guilt cross Lily's features, but the next moment, it was gone.

"I can pinpoint when I first noticed the change, though," he pressed on. "It was right after your tutoring session with him in the library. He left looking so cheerful and excited, and returned a little bemused and concerned. He didn't speak to us that night, but he didn't seem to be too upset. After dinner the next day however, the change was evident."

There was no denying the guilty look on Lily's face right now.

"Did he mention anything to you?" Remus asked innocently.

Lily shook her head, eyes glued to the floor.

"Well I sure wish he'd snap out of it. He's gotten so much more mature and responsible this year. He's really turned into a great guy, hasn't he?"

Lily nodded, still staring at her feet.

"Hopefully whatever's upset him will work out soon," Remus said quietly, glancing into an empty classroom to ensure it was, in fact, empty.

Lily seemed to have finally found her voice. "Yes, I hope so too. He really has become a decent guy, hasn't he?"

"I think so," Remus said, smiling. "I'm glad you think so too. Goodness knows he's been trying to impress you for ages."

Lily gave a tinkling laugh. "Well, he finally has. I've been so busy with work I have barely spoken to him over the past week. I'm sure that will change now that our workload has quietened a bit."

"That sounds good, Lily," Remus said earnestly, smiling slightly. "We might as well head back now, it's all clear around here."

Lily nodded and the pair made their way back to Gryffindor tower. Lily was deep in thought, as she had been all day, about James Potter. However, after her conversation with Remus, her mind was made up. It was not fair of her to ignore James and to be cool towards him when he didn't even know what it was he had done wrong. Dorcas had been right to call Sirius an arrogant jerk, and Lily couldn't help but notice she was acting just as Sirius had been. Tomorrow, she would speak with James, and hopefully everything would go back to normal.

While Lily contemplated her second time attempt at a friendship with James, Remus secretly thrilled in his cunning. He had lied without giving himself away, switched around the prefect schedule when he wasn't supposed to, and gotten Lily to speak with James again, without either of them realizing what he'd done.

Feeling very proud of himself, Remus couldn't help but think that he truly deserved his title as a Marauder.

**A.N : Three weeks! I know, I hate me too. In all fairness, I'm in the midst of exam week! I even have one tomorrow! But this was much more important, so I wrote it as quickly as I could! I apologize if it's horrible, I really tried! The next chapter is the one I really had in my mind when I started this story, so hopefully you all enjoy it! It should be up soon seeing as exams are over on Thursday! Review and I'll update as fast as I can!**

**Here's a little excerpt from the next chapter; do with it what you will.**

"You need to get the fuck over yourself!" He shouted angrily.

"_I_ need to get over _my_self? Hark who's talking you cocky, ignorant, self-absorbed – " She hollered, but was cut off abruptly by his lips crashing into hers.

**Oh my, oh my. Drama is on the way! (evil grin) :) **


	12. quidditch and a party

"Just walk into the Hall, you sit by them every day anyway, come on, you can do it_," _Lily chanted to herself, biting her fingernail nervously and peering through the double doors of the Great Hall. James and his friends were laughing and stuffing their faces with breakfast foods, but Lily just couldn't seem to make herself march in there and sit down beside them like she had been for the past month.

After her patrol with Remus the night before, Lily had decided she wasn't going to punish James Potter for her own feelings. Not that she had any feelings towards James, of course, but nonetheless that almost-kiss was still haunting her dreams. In a bad way, though! Definitely in a bad way. How on earth could she see something good in that horrid tutoring session in the library, anyways?

As Lily's thoughts turned to rambling she didn't notice Dorcas and Alice walk up behind her, eyebrows raised. They glanced at one another and turned back to face Lily, who was shaking her head and muttering under her breath.

"Nothing good that's what….maybe later I'll do it… later would be better…" she mumbled, and before the other two could react, Lily spun on her heel and walked right into her friends.

Alice somehow managed to stay on her feet but Dorcas and Lily smacked into one another and crashed to the ground, looking dazed.

"What are you two doing?" Lily demanded, rubbing her head and struggling to sit up.

"Watching you talk to yourself apparently," Dorcas said, wincing as she tried to pull herself in a seating position while at the same time attempting to pull her skirt down, as it had flown up.

"Just what I always wanted, Meadowes with her legs spread for me."

Dorcas whirled around, still seated on the ground, to glare heatedly at Sirius, who was standing over her smirking. James, Remus and Peter hovered behind him looking anxiously from Sirius to Dorcas. Yanking her skirt back over her thighs, Dorcas scrambled to her feet and stepped closer to Sirius. Even though he was a few inches taller than her, she was still surprisingly close to his height, and when she drew herself up he actually stepped back.

"Never for you, Black dearest. Remember that," she said haughtily. Turning before he could reply and angrily whipping her hair around, Dorcas stormed into the Great Hall.

Sirius let out an annoyed gust of air and turned on his heel in the opposite direction, and, whether intentionally or not, flipped his hair in exactly the same manner Dorcas just had.

Alice and Lily stared silently at James, Remus and Peter. They all seemed to feel rather awkward for the behaviour of their friends, and the silence was finally broken by Peter, who muttered something about the unseasonably warm weather they were expected to have for the day. This seemed to unthaw the group, all of whom began muttering about "unusual weather" and "looking forward to snow".

As the group continued their awkward mumblings, Lily decided it was now or never to speak with James. Before she could over analyze the situation she heard herself call out, "James? Would you mind speaking with me for just a moment?"

James looked stunned, as if he was unsure whether or not it had actually been Lily who had spoken. Once he seemed to realize that she had actually spoken to him for the first time in a week, James nodded mutely and followed her into a room off the hall. Remus, Peter and Alice watched their retreating backs, Alice and Peter with open mouths and Remus with an identifiably smug look.

James closed the door behind him as he followed Lily into a dusty and rather cramped broom cupboard. Lily felt mildly uncomfortable with her choice of room, but deciding it wasn't the most pressing matter at the time, she took a deep breath and looked up at James.

"James, I just wanted to… well, that is…" she stuttered, feeling a blush creep up her cheeks. James stared at her, looking completely bemused.

Lily glanced at the floor, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "I just wanted to say thanks for tutoring me in Transfiguration last week, and I'm sorry I didn't say that earlier but I have just been so swamped with homework and Head duties that I haven't had much time for anything lately." Lily knew she was rambling so she stopped herself and looked right at James.

"So…I just wanted to say thanks. And…good luck with the Quidditch game tomorrow."

James stared at Lily, his mouth open in surprise. He had been completely sure he had ruined any chance of even being friends with Lily, and here she was thanking him and wishing him good luck. What had he done to change her mind?

"Er…well, thanks, Lily," James replied after a few moments of silence.

Lily nodded, flashed him an uncertain smile, and then gestured to the door. "We should probably get to breakfast now."

James nodded and opened the door, gesturing for Lily to exit first. As Lily and Alice began walking towards the Great Hall, James following, Peter and Remus shot James a confused look.

"Uh…James? We just ate," Remus pointed out, wondering why James was heading back to the Great Hall.

"Shh!" James hissed, flapping his arms at them and continuing to follow the girls. He wanted to sit with Lily during breakfast and make up for their lack of communication throughout the past week.

Remus and Peter glanced at one another confusedly, but eventually shrugged and followed James. They slid into seats across from Lily, Alice and Dorcas, the latter of which seemed to be taking out her anger on an innocent sausage.

"So what was that secretive broom cupboard-meeting about?" Peter asked between mouthfuls of sausage, feeling the need to start on a second breakfast seeing as he was forced to return back to the Gryffindor table.

"Just wishing James good luck for the Quidditch game tomorrow," Lily replied breezily, helping herself to some toast and looking happier than she had all week.

Remus glanced up excitedly and thumped James on the back. "Wow Prongs, I forgot! First Quidditch match tomorrow, and do you know what that means?"

"Party in the common room tomorrow night!" Peter crowed, high fiving Remus and grinning from ear to ear. "Sirius and I will pick up some firewhiskey and food, and you set up the common room, okay Moony?"

"Sounds good," Remus replied. "Try and drag the match out a bit, won't you, James? Only if it ends as quickly as last year's our party will start much too early."

James groaned. "Quit it, you two. We only have a party if our team wins, remember?"

Dorcas laughed and when the others turned to look at her she sighed. "Oh, come on you guys. The match is against Hufflepuff. Of course Gryffindor is going to win!"

"Exactly!" Remus exclaimed, beaming at Dorcas. "So we have to be prepared, because the party will be the most exciting part!"

"Stop it! Quidditch can be a very unpredictable sport, you know," James growled, glaring at the group. "Diggory's got a good team this year, we could easily lose!"

The other five stared at James for a moment, and then they all burst out laughing.

"Oh, come on James," Alice said between giggles. "I'm dating a Hufflepuff and even I can say with conviction that you will have no trouble winning against them."

James rolled his eyes. "Quidditch amateurs. You just don't get how quickly the game can change. Conditions can change in favour of Hufflepuff and BAM, we've lost. Or a bludger could come out of nowhere, incapacitating one of our team-mates and BAM, we're one player short. Or –"

"Oh, for Heaven's sake, James, calm down! We all know you're going to win, there's no need to be so modest," Lily piped up, causing James to abruptly stop speaking.

"Yes, James, everyone knows Gryffindor is going to win. So just relax, and let us plan the party, okay?" Remus said pleadingly.

James sighed exasperatedly and nodded.

"Good, because if you hadn't agreed we would have had to knock you out until minutes before the match," Peter said in an offhand manner, going back to his sausages.

James laughed, but faltered when he noticed Remus and Peter staring at him seriously.

"He's not joking. We discussed it with Padfoot, but he felt you deserved better than that and refused to take part. So, we decided against it," Remus explained, shrugging.

James stared at them with wide eyes. "I'm a little scared of you two right now," he muttered, pushing his plate away.

The girls laughed and shook their heads at the foolishness of boys and sports.

"I'll never understand why boys are so serious about Quidditch," Alice said, shaking her head.

The boys immediately began shouting at the tops of their voices all of the positive experiences Quidditch has brought to wizards everywhere, until the girl's were covering their ears with their hands.

"Okay, okay, we get it. No need to shout it," Lily grumbled, taking her hands away from her ears and grabbing her bag. "If we don't leave soon we're going to be late for Transfiguration. And if McGonagall is in a foul mood she might be angry enough to stop us from going to, or playing in the Quidditch match…" Lily trailed off, laughing as the three boys bounded from their seats as though they had been burned, and sprinted out of the Great Hall.

* * *

By the next morning at breakfast, the chatter about the upcoming match had increased to an unbearable amount, and the seventh-year Gryffindor girls were getting sick of it.

"For Merlin's sake, it is just a bloody Quidditch game," Dorcas mumbled, glaring at a pack of seventh-year Hufflepuffs who were weighing their chances against the current weather conditions. "How much is there to talk about?"

"Ah, my dear, how little you understand the courageous sport that is Quidditch," Sirius sighed dramatically, flopping on to the bench beside her, decked out in his Quidditch uniform and clutching his broom in one hand. James, also wearing his uniform but looking exceptionally more pale than Sirius, slid in the seat across from him and stared at his hands.

"James, my dear Quidditch captain! How are you holding up over there, mate?" Sirius asked, grinning.

James just looked up at him, swallowing hard. "What if we lose, Padfoot? My first ever match as Captain, and what if we lose?!"

"Prongs…you're shrieking like a girl," Peter commented, sliding on to the bench beside him as Remus quickly followed.

James just kept his eyes fixed on Sirius, waiting for some words of comfort.

"Well James, I'll first say that the glare you are giving me right now is positively creepy!" Sirius said jovially, applying copious amounts of marmalade to his toast. When he noticed James still looked like he was going to be sick, however, he put down his toast and sighed. "Relax James, we'll definitely win! It's bloody Hufflepuff! When have they ever been good?"

James nodded, looking rather unconvinced. "But-," he began, but Sirius cut him off.

"James! Stop worrying! This is the first Quidditch match of the year, meaning it's our _last_ first match, and it's our first match of the year against Hufflepuff but it's also our_ last_ last match against Hufflepuff, causing it to also be our _first_ last match against Hufflepuff and you will not ruin it for the rest of us!"

James turned to look at the other five seated around the table. "Did anyone understand that?"

"Nope," the other five chorused, grinning at Sirius' affronted look.

"Well it made sense in here," Sirius said, knocking on his head and winking at the girls.

"Pathetic," Dorcas muttered, causing Lily and Alice to laugh and Sirius to glare at her.

James, sensing another fight between the two, jumped to his feet and picked up his broom. "C'mon Padfoot, the match is in thirty minutes and we need to have a decent pep talk before it starts."

Sirius closed his eyes tightly, causing the other six to stare at one another uncertainly.

"Um…Sirius?" Lily asked hesitantly. "What are you doing?"

Sirius kept his eyes clamped shut. "I bloody hate his pep talks. Is he gone yet?"

Lily, Dorcas, Alice, Remus and Peter all burst out laughing, as James grabbed Sirius by the arm and hoisted him out of his seat.

"Don't make me hurt you, Sirius, I am _seriously_ on edge today."

"No kidding," Alice said, grinning at James, who could barely manage a small smile back.

As James and Sirius headed out of the Great Hall, Peter turned to face Remus. "Right, so Sirius and I headed into Hogsmeade last night and picked up all the essentials for tonight," he explained.

Remus nodded in a business-like manner. "Perfect. I'll come back to the castle while everyone is celebrating with the team on the pitch and set up the common room."

The boys high-fived one another while making complicated movements with their hands, then finally pulling apart and snapping simultaneously. They looked up to see Lily, Dorcas and Alice staring at them incredulously.

Remus and Peter shrugged. "It's a Marauder thing," Remus explained.

"And we thought you were the normal one," Alice replied sadly, causing the girls to laugh loudly and the two boys to look affronted.

* * *

"We won! We won! We won!" Sirius hollered, holding his broomstick over his head as several people carried him off the pitch. James, bouncing on the arms of others right beside Sirius, glanced over to his best friend and grinned widely.

"I knew we'd win!" James announced as the crowd placed him and Sirius on the ground next to Lily, Alice, Dorcas and Peter.

"What?!" Lily exclaimed. "You were a nervous wreck for the past twenty-four hours! You kept telling everyone 'Quidditch can be a very unpredictable sport'! Does that sound like the actions of someone who _knew_ they were going to win?"

James hesitated. "Do you have to remember everything I do?"

The others laughed. "Someone has to," Lily pointed out.

"Okay, enough talking! Party in the common room!" Sirius shouted, sprinting headlong towards the castle, singing at the top of his voice.

The other five glanced at one another, shrugged, and sprinted after Sirius, eager to get to the after party.

* * *

The party in the Gryffindor common room was in full swing. The Weird Sisters was blasting, people were dancing and chatting and Sirius had dutifully spiked the punch hours ago, causing many people to be rather tipsy.

"I can't believe him," Dorcas muttered, taking a huge gulp of what was either her seventh or eighth cup of spiked punch.

"I know," Lily said, the corners of her mouth twitching. "What a prat he can be… he worried about this match for the past two days, and now he claims he knew they would win all along? Pathetic."

Dorcas' eyebrows rose. "Who're you talking about?" she inquired.

"James," Lily responded. "Who are you talking about?"

"Black," Dorcas growled, glaring over at Sirius who was trying to dance with Remus, much to Remus' disgust. "I hate that he's always around now. Although I must say I think everyone is enjoying the unusual closeness occurring between you and James."

Lily scoffed. "You call closeness avoiding him for two weeks?"

Dorcas surveyed Lily suspiciously. "You didn't tell me you were avoiding him. Care to explain?"

Lily blushed. "No?"

"_Lily_," Dorcas said in her most demanding voice, draining her drink and crossing her arms threateningly.

"Alright," Lily sighed and launched in to the story of the horrendous tutoring session that had occurred a week earlier (leaving out, of course, that moment of insanity where a small part of her had actually _wanted_ James to kiss her), and how she had just made up with James the other day.

"Wow." Dorcas mumbled when Lily was finished.

"I know," Lily agreed, nodding. "Did you ever think you would see the day when _I_ would be making an effort to patch things up with _Potter_?"

"I never thought I'd see the day where you and James almost _snogged_!" Dorcas squealed, causing several people to stare at the two.

"Keep your voice down!" Lily hissed, flapping her hands at Dorcas. "It's not like we _wanted_ it to happen – " Lily began but was cut off by Dorcas laughing loudly.

"Lily, Lily, Lily," Dorcas said, laughing so hard there were tears brimming at her eyes. "You _wanted_ him to kiss you, didn't you?!"

"I DID NOT!" Lily shrieked, the pair of them now attracting quite a bit of attention. "Dorcas Bernice Meadowes, keep your voice down or I will do it for you!"

"Bernice?" Sirius drawled from across the room, smirking. "Well, that's embarrassing, isn't it?"

"Enough out of you _Orion_," Remus muttered, not wanting Dorcas and Sirius to get in a fight and ruin the party.

"Ex_cuse_ me, but Orion is a beautiful name!" Sirius declared, looking offended.

"Not when your initials are SOB," Remus countered, smiling.

Dorcas laughed loudly from across the room, winking at Remus.

"Don't mind 'Bernice' everyone, she's obviously had too much to drink. Hey Meadowes, you always this messy when you're drunk, or have I just witnessed the two worst occasions?"

"Shut up, Black," Dorcas snarled, all hint of laughter from her voice gone.

"Why, are you telling me other people haven't had to _carry_ yo –" Sirius sneered, but Dorcas flung her empty cup at him and stormed out of the common room before he could finish, leaving Lily standing alone at the other side of the common room.

Sirius grinned haughtily at the back of the portrait hole, and turned to continue his conversation with Remus. He opened his mouth, but stopped short when he saw Remus glaring at him.

"You are undeniably a prick, did you know that?" Remus said, intensifying his glare.

"I've heard that before, yeah," Sirius chuckled. When Remus did not drop his glare however, Sirius sighed. "What the bloody fuck d'you want me to do, Moony? Go _apologize_?"

"That would be a start," Remus said sternly, pointing to the portrait hole.

Sirius swore under his breath. "Fine, I'll apologize to Meadowes, just because I know she will come back to bite me in the ass later. And not in a good way," he added as Peter, who had been close by, winked suggestively at Sirius.

Sirius stomped to the portrait hole, pushed it open and, with a last withering glare at Peter and Remus, stormed through it.

Sirius spotted Meadowes blonde hair whipping around the corner at the end of the corridor, and he sped after her.

"Wait, Meadowes."

"Sod off, Black."

Sirius winced at the harshness in her tone. He put on an extra spurt of speed and grabbed her by the arm, spinning her so she was facing him.

"Look, Meadowes, I'm sorry," Sirius said, not letting go of her arm and using his other hand to run through his hair.

"I don't care," Dorcas said through gritted teeth, trying to yank her arm out of his grip. Annoyed, Sirius held on tighter, sure he was hurting her but unable to care at the moment.

"I'm trying to apologize, you don't have to be such a wench!"

Sure that this comment was going to merit a slap in the face by Dorcas, Sirius was surprised when she stopped trying to pull her arm away from him and sighed.

"Why are you talking to me?"

Sirius looked at her, stumped. Was this some sort of trick? "Because I'm trying to apologize…"

Dorcas shook her head. "No, Black, I mean, why did you start talking to me again? What happened to the whole avoidance plan?"

Sirius stared at her, trying to come up with an answer. She looked annoyed by his lack of response but, the truth was, he wasn't exactly sure himself.

"I – I don't know," Sirius confessed quietly. Dorcas scoffed.

"Sure you don't," she muttered, still looking down.

"What the hell does that mean?" Sirius asked, temper flaring once more.

"It means I don't know what gave you the impression I wanted you to talk to me again! I'm _sorry_ I got too drunk in Hogsmeade, okay? I'm _sorry_ you had to bring me up to your room because I passed out. I'm _sorry _I annoyed you that night, but was it really so bad that you wouldn't even _talk_ to me again?!"

Dorcas looked up and glared at him contemptuously, breathing heavily after her rant.

"Meadowes," Sirius said, trying not to laugh. "I think you got it all wrong. That's not why I avoided you."

"Well then why did you?" Dorcas demanded. "I must have done something to irk you. What was it?!"

"Well – wait, did you just say 'irk'?" Sirius asked, amused.

Dorcas did not look pleased. "Yes, I did. It's a perfectly legitimate word! Answer the question, Black!"

"I – I don't know why," Sirius said, trailing off and trying hard not to think of the feelings that had been running rampant inside him the day after his Hogsmeade trip with Dorcas, Lily, Alice and the Marauders.

"Well that's not a good enough answer," Dorcas growled. "So until you figure it out I suggest you _stop_ talking to me!"

Dorcas tried again to yank her arm out of his clutches but he gripped it harder.

"Christ, Meadowes, you need to get the fuck over yourself!" He shouted angrily.

"_I_ need to get the fuck over _my_self? Hark who's talking you cocky, ignorant, self-absorbed –" she hollered back, but was cut off abruptly by his lips crashing in to hers.

* * *

James sat broodingly on the stairs leading to the boys dormitory, sipping at a firewhiskey and staring out in to the crowd. The party was still in full swing, though it was nearing one o'clock, and Sirius was no where in sight. Grimacing, James assumed he was off with a girl, and would not be back to their room that night.

Sighing, James figured they ought to shut the party down, before McGonagall came in and gave everyone in sight detention. Not to mention what she would do if she saw that third year passed out from too much of Sirius' punch….

"Alright everyone, let's get to bed now," James shouted, standing up and pushing his way through the crowd. "C'mon now, McGonagall will be here any minute you know…"

Mumblings and glares were thrown his way but James didn't care. He could already see the murderous look on Lily's face when she found out people were still carrying on in the common room. James looked around, trying to find Lily in the crowd, but he couldn't spot her anywhere. Hoping against hope that she hadn't gone for a professor, James ushered most of the students to their dormitories.

Flopping on to an armchair by the dying embers, James couldn't stifle a laugh at Peter, who was passed out on the couch with writing all over his face. Thinking it kinder to not wake him until morning, James stood up to head to his own dormitory for the night.

"Shh, don't wake up the whole castle," James heard a familiar voice whisper and, in the next instant, Remus and Mary McDonald had stumbled through the portrait hole, arms around one another and giggling like children.

"Remus!" James gasped, clapping a hand to his mouth. Not only was Remus intoxicated, but he had his arms around a girl _and_ had a mouth covered in lipstick.

Remus waved impatiently at James and led Mary to the couch across from Peter.

"This is my dormitory," Remus announced to her. "And that's my bed," he stated, pointing to the couch.

"It's lovely," Mary said, holding back a laugh and staring at Remus hungrily.

"Er…right, then. You two just, have fun here. I'm going to go back to my dormitory," James said and, feeling ridiculously awkward, he spun on his heel and marched towards the boys staircase, feeling very grateful that Remus was too drunk to realize he was snogging a girl in the middle of the deserted common room.

As he placed a foot on the bottom stair, James noticed a mass of red out of his peripheral vision. Turning his head, James nearly fell over in surprise. Lily Evans was passed out on the floor, clutching an empty cup, with several others littered around her.

James gaped. _The_ Lily Evans was drunk! James dithered on the spot for a moment, unsure as to whether he should carry her up to his bed or not. His mind was made up for him, however, when he heard Remus' growls becoming more heated. Deciding he would rather be anywhere than in the common room at the present time, James scooped Lily up in his arms and practically flew up the boys staircases, not stopping until he kicked the door of his own dormitory open.

James carefully bent down to place Lily on his bed, and didn't even try to suppress a grin when her arms held tighter onto his neck. He gently prised her off of him and knelt down on the bed beside her, brushing some of her dark red hair out of her face.

"James," she sighed, rolling onto her side and facing him, though her eyes were still closed.

"It's me," James whispered, feeling foolish as it was clear Lily was still asleep. "I'll, er, just go to Sirius' bed then."

"No," Lily mumbled (at least, James was sure that was what she said). "You don't have to."

James deliberated for half a second until he said, "al-alright then." Pulling the covers over Lily, James lay on top of them, facing her.

Lily seemed to have instantly gone back to sleep, but James stayed up for hours watching her closely, feeling butterflies erupt in his stomach every time she let out a sigh or moan. It was well after four in the morning before James finally got to sleep, one of his hands placed behind Lily's head, as he had been removing her hair out of her eyes every time it fell across her face.

The last memory James had before he closed his eyes was Lily's peaceful face while she slept. James had decided there and then that he had never seen anything so beautiful in his life, and he could not live the rest of his life without her. Operation Win Over Evans was back on, and he was more determined than ever before.

**A.N: I know you hate me! I hate me! I had this story 2/3 of the way finished about four months ago and COMPUTER CRASH. I could have re-written it on a friend's computer, but we already established I was not thinking clearly, and I suck. So sorry, you will never have to wait HALF AS LONG again! I'm not even asking for reviews after this long wait… I am unworthy! **

**Also, I have nothing against the name Bernice, but it is my cousin's middle name and she swears it is the worst thing her parents ever did to her, SO it was the first one to pop in to my mind and I think it suits Dorcas, don't you?**

**Enough of my ramblings though; although I will add I could have done better with the last part. I rushed to get it up, but I may edit it later!**


	13. the aftermath

Dorcas moaned, stretching her long legs and blinking the sleep out of her eyes. She was feeling exceptionally hung-over and wanted nothing more than to have a nice cool drink of water and discuss the events of last night's party with her roommates and best friends. However, as she became slightly less disoriented, Dorcas peered around the room she was in, realizing it was not her Gryffindor dormitory.

Dorcas attempted to push the blankets off her body when she realized with a jolt of horror that she was completely naked. Struggling to sit up, Dorcas let out a very audible gasp as she noticed a completely naked Sirius Black lying beside her, seemingly still asleep.

"Oh my god," Dorcas said, clapping a hand to her mouth. This seemed to stir Sirius from his slumber, as his eyes flickered and he stretched his arms, yawning.

Sirius glanced at Dorcas and the sleepy grin on his face seemed to slip off. He simply looked at her, a look of confusion crossing his face. Then, quite suddenly, he lifted up the blankets covering himself and Dorcas, and his eyes widened as he realized they were both naked.

"Okay, yes, we're both naked," Dorcas cried, pushing his hand away and wrapping the blankets around her. Sirius' eyes remained wide as the events of last night came flooding back to him.

As Sirius had yet to say a word, and they were lying side by side naked, Dorcas felt she really ought to break the tension.

"What happened last night?" Dorcas asked, but immediately regretted asking such a stupid question.

Sirius' eyebrows rose. "Y-you don't remember?" He asked awkwardly, sincerely hoping this wasn't the case. After all, he remembered everything quite clearly, and it would not be a good situation if Dorcas had been so drunk she didn't remember what had occurred last night.

Dorcas closed her eyes and the events of last night all came rushing back to her.

****

Sirius was kissing her forcefully, and instead of pulling away like she ought to, Dorcas wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back with as much intensity as she could muster. Sirius pushed her up against the wall and pulled her legs up so they were circled around his waist. He planted kisses along her jaw and neck as she wound her hands in his silky black hair and moaned.

"We shouldn't be out in the hallway," Dorcas managed to say. "Anyone could –," but she was cut off by Sirius' lips, which had recaptured her own in a bruising kiss. Sirius' tongue traced her lips and she opened her mouth eagerly.

After several more minutes of heated snogging, in which Dorcas' skirt was up around her waist and several buttons of Sirius' shirt had been undone, Sirius finally pulled away.

"Come on," Sirius said huskily, yanking Dorcas' skirt back into place and grabbing her hand. She meant to ask him where they were going but she was still dazed from the passionate snogging session they had just finished.

After several minutes, Sirius stopped in front of a blank stretch of wall. He let go of Dorcas' hand, told her to stay where she was and quickly paced back and forth in front of this wall three times. After the third time a door appeared in the wall, causing Dorcas to gasp in surprise and Sirius to grin triumphantly.

Sirius beckoned her over to him and threw the door open, pulling her through the doorway. Inside was a small room with rose petals all over the ground and a huge, heart shaped bed in the center. Dorcas laughed at the cheesiness of it all but did not have time to make any sort of comment as Sirius picked her up and eagerly carried her over to the bed.

Dorcas and Sirius made quick work of losing their clothes, and in no time at all were entwined with one another on the bed, still kissing as though their life depended on it. As Sirius' hands began to travel further south he heard Dorcas' breath hitch and he looked up, worried.

"Too much?" He asked anxiously. "Sorry, I didn't mean to -" he tried to explain but Dorcas pressed one of her fingers to his lips.

"Not too much," she promised him, grinning and pressing her body in to his willingly. "Not enough."

Sirius returned Dorcas' impish grin, but his faltered slightly. "Are you – are you sure, Dorcas?"

Dorcas nodded and leaned in to kiss Sirius sweetly on the lips. This seemed to confirm her words in Sirius' mind as he pulled her as close to him as possible and pulled the blanket over their heads.

****

Dorcas shook her head slowly, returning to the present. "No, I remember," she mumbled, avoiding Sirius' eye. Sirius shifted awkwardly beside her.

"Okay, well I just -" he began, but Dorcas cut across him.

"No, Sirius. Just, don't say anything right now, okay? We were drunk and we weren't thinking clearly. It was just a – a drunken mistake. They happen, right?" Dorcas pasted a smile on her face, praying it didn't look too forced.

Sirius' heart plummeted. He had just been about to ask her what this meant between them, but she had already answered him. She wanted to act like it meant nothing to her. Or, a nasty voice in the back of his mind thought, maybe it didn't mean anything to her. Maybe it _was_ just sex in her eyes. Sirius shook his head, trying to ignore the voice in his mind and trying to ignore the fact that he believed it to be right. Overlooking why this bothered him so much, Sirius plastered his own fake smile on his face.

"Right," he agreed, not quite meeting her eye. "We just… made a mistake. Not thinking clearly and all that…" he trailed off, staring at his hands.

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"Well, er, Lily and Alice will be worried sick," Dorcas mumbled, peering at the ground on her side of the bed and wondering where her clothes were. "We should really get back to our dormitories."

Sirius nodded in agreement and procured her clothes from the floor on his side of the bed, passing them to her silently.

"Thanks," Dorcas said quietly, and turned her back to him as she got dressed.

Sirius didn't take his eyes off Dorcas' naked back until she was fully clothed. As she turned back around he snapped his head to face the opposite direction and, picking up his own clothes, quickly changed into them.

They stumbled to the door together and made their way out of the room and down the hall to the Gryffindor common room. It was an awkward ten minute walk, especially at one point when Sirius' hand brushed Dorcas' and she flinched as though burned. Sirius' mind was racing with questions and unidentifiable feelings that were completely new for him.

Finally, they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, gave the password, and clambered into the common room. They both barely cracked a smile at Peter, sprawled out on a couch with his face covered in writing, although they were unable to hide their laugh upon noticing a half naked Remus snuggled up with Mary MacDonald on the couch opposite. They crept around the three sleeping people and, with a muttered "'bye, then", they climbed the stairs to their own dormitories, both feeling equally hurt and confused.

* * *

"Lily," James whispered, nudging her lightly in an attempt to wake her up. Sirius had just stormed in with no explanations and, surprisingly, didn't seem to even notice Lily sprawled across James' chest. James tried to whisperingly demand Sirius explain where he had been all night but Sirius had ignored him and was currently in the shower, not singing at the top of his voice over the spray of the water for one of the first times James could ever remember.

Lily's eyes fluttered open and then closed again. She gripped James tighter and nestled her head on his chest, hoping to get some more sleep. After a few seconds, however, she seemed to realize where she was as she leapt off of James and stared at him in shock.

"James? What am I – what are you – how did -," and then she gasped, "did we - ?!"

"No!" James half-shouted, hoping desperately she would not hate him again and feeling like an idiot for agreeing to sleep in the same bed as her. "No, Lily, nothing happened last night, I swear. I cleared everyone out of the common room but I noticed you passed out on the floor and I couldn't find Alice or Dorcas and I couldn't get you to your room because the stairs turn into a slide if a boy tries to climb them so I had no choice but to bring you up here," James knew he was rambling, something Lily did much more than he, so he quickly shut up, holding his breath.

"Why are we in the same bed?" Lily asked slowly, and James thought he detected a hint of suspicion underneath her curiosity.

"Well, I brought you up here and put you on my bed, but when I tried to leave you – er – didn't let me."

Lily's eyes flashed dangerously and James gulped. "I didn't let you? I thought you said I was passed out! I mean it, James, tell me what happened!"

"Nothing happened," James cried, throwing up his hands. "You were half-asleep when I put you on my bed but you told me to stay with you, so I did. I wasn't going to leave you alone if you didn't want me to. I just did what you asked, and I'm sorry but I thought you wanted me to stay because that is what you _said_ to me!" James could feel one of their legendary fights coming on and he was not happy about it. They had gone all year without one and they were about to have one because he had done what she _wanted_ him to do.

Much to James' surprise, however, Lily just looked down, picking at a thread on James' bedspread. "Okay," she said quietly. "Well, thanks, James. I don't know what got into me last night but my reputation would be finished if people noticed me still passed out in the common room this morning."

James' mouth dropped open in surprise. He couldn't believe Lily was just going to let it go and take his word for what happened last night. For the first time, James realized he wasn't the only one who had changed this year. Lily had changed too; she had become less uptight and more willing to trust James, something he was very happy about.

"Everyone would have understood, Sirius' punch affected a lot of people last night," James said, grinning.

Lily grinned too. "I barely even tasted the alcohol. Remus and Alice kept on goading me and by the end of it I had had nearly nine cups. I'm going to kill those two!"

James laughed. "Er, Remus may have already gotten his comeuppance for that one. If you head down to the common room right now you will witness a half naked Remus snuggled up to Mary MacDonald, both of them fast asleep."

"You're kidding!" Lily shrieked, slapping James playfully on the arm to show her surprise. "Remus Lupin, I cannot _believe_ that!"

"See for yourself," James suggested, pointing to the door leading out of the boys' dormitory. Lily raised her eyebrows at him and, after a moment's hesitation, hurried out of the room and down the staircase, James leaping off the bed and rushing after her.

"REMUS!" Lily shrieked, clapping her hands to her mouth as she noticed Remus and Mary MacDonald passed out on the couch.

James doubled over with laughter as Remus and Mary started awake, disoriented. Finally Remus' half open eyes landed on James and Lily and he fell off the couch with a yelp of shock.

"Atta boy Moony," James said, holding on to Lily for support as he continued roaring with laughter. Even Lily had to hide a laugh as Remus sprang around the common room in just his underwear, searching frantically for his clothes.

"Remus, our clothes are by the fireplace," Mary muttered, blushing furiously and avoiding eye contact with both James and Lily.

Remus sheepishly scooped up their clothes, handed Mary her own and began dressing at the speed of light. Mary collected her clothes in her arms, mumbled an embarrassed, "sorry," to James and Lily, and bolted up the stairs to her dormitory.

"Eventful night, Remus?" Lily asked, smirking. Remus blushed and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand awkwardly.

"I thought you would be a little more upset to be totally honest, Lily," he admitted.

Lily grinned. "I should be," she announced rather sternly. "But I understand; I had too much of Sirius' – er – _special_ punch myself."

Remus' eyebrows rose. "Oh, did you? And what, pray tell, did you end up doing last night Miss Evans?"

"Well, for starters, she finally slept with me!" James cut in, beaming.

"WHAT?!" Remus choked out, clutching a hand to his heart and staring at Lily. "Are you mad?!"

"JAMES!" Lily shouted, turning beet red. "That did _not_ happen! You best keep comments like that to yourself or I will hex you so hard you won't be able to sit down for weeks!"

James laughed light-heartedly and shook his head. "It did happen, Lily. You fell asleep with me in my bed. We slept together. You two have _got_ to get your minds out of the gutter!"

Remus and Lily both glared at him, causing James to gulp and hastily attempt to back track.

"Er, I mean, sorry Lily, I did not mean to slander your good name like that. Of course I'm just speaking nonsense, it's what I do best, isn't it? Lily and I have never had any sort of relations in that manner, and it was just plain rude of me to insinuate otherwise. I'm sorry Lily, and I'm sorry for misleading you, Remus."

Lily smiled, looking satisfied. Remus, however, shook his head sadly.

"James Potter, you are so whipped," he said sadly. "It's honestly pathetic."

"I am _not_ whipped!" James said indignantly. "I say _and_ do what I want when I want and _no_ one tells me other wise!"

Lily frowned at him and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Hmm, just kidding?" James said, wringing his hands nervously.

Remus eyed him suspiciously. "I don't know what you have done to him, Lily, but it's alarming."

"I've just got an excellent glare," Lily said, laughing. "With enough practice you should get it down well enough to make him pick up after himself, I couldn't help but notice your common room is an absolute mess!"

"Okay, enough mocking me!" James whined, stamping his foot.

"Did you seriously just stamp your foot? Are you a girl?"

"Moony! What did I just say!"

"Well when you give me all of this material to work with it is virtually impossible to stop mocking you!"

"Coming from a guy who howls at the moon, yeah it must be _so_ easy for you to mock me!"

"I can't believe you just dragged my lycanthropy into this, you're lucky Lily already knows or I'd be inclined to tell her how long you made us sleep with a night-light on in our dorm room!"

"You wouldn't – "

"Until midway through fifth year!"

James gasped and clapped his hands to his mouth, looking scandalized. Remus smirked smugly and Lily doubled over with laughter.

"Fifth year? You can't be serious!" She gasped, clutching her stomach as she tried to stop laughing.

Remus laughed along with her. "One night Sirius turned it off and started mentioning any scary creature he could think of. James shrieked like a girl and fell out of his bed tangled up in his sheets, trying desperately to turn the light back on!"

Lily and Remus erupted in laughter once more and James huffed angrily.

"I'm not even embarrassed because you," he pointed at Remus, "woke up half naked cuddling with Mary MacDonald, while Lily and I watched you. And you," he pointed at Lily, "woke up on top of me. So I'm feeling pretty good about myself right now."

Remus and Lily looked at each other embarrassedly. Then, Lily shrugged. "Well, you've got me there, James. Waking up in the same bed as you is _much_ more embarrassing than sleeping with a night-light until you're sixteen."

"_Thank _you," James said, beaming. Then he frowned. "Hey – wait a minute! No! That's not true!"

Lily burst out laughing and raced out of the portrait hole as James glared at her, half angry and half amused.

"Oh, Prongs. I don't know what you did, but I can hardly believe my eyes. You and Lily, flirting?!" Remus shook his head.

James' heart almost stopped. "Flirting?!" He squealed in a high-pitched voice. "We weren't flirting… were we?"

"Well, it certainly seemed like it, but if you're not sure then maybe I misinterpreted it," Remus shrugged.

"No, you are so right, Moony! We were flirting! For Merlin's sake, I can't believe this is happening. First I wake up with her lying on top of me and now she's _flirting _with me! There's still hope, Moony, there's still hope!"

"Ah, Prongs, I suppose there is. Now, do you mind explaining to me how exactly she happened to wake up in your bed this morning?"

"All in good time, Moony my friend, I've got to go find Lily now!" James patted Remus on the back and dashed towards the portrait hole.

"Not now, James! Shouldn't you give her some space, you don't want to crowd – " but James had already clambered through the portrait hole.

"Then again, what do I know?"

* * *

Sirius entered the Great Hall later that morning feeling confused, hurt and a little angry. He didn't understand why Dorcas had immediately wanted to pass off their evening together as a mistake, and he was upset she had been so quick to dismiss it as nothing. Sirius was angry at her for being so foolish, but he was also angry at himself. Why did he care so much? Why was he letting this girl get to him when no one else ever had? Sirius shook his head angrily and plopped down by James, pulling a plate towards him and filling it with breakfast foods.

"Padfoot! Blimey, mate, I thought you'd drowned yourself. Cold shower to cool you off after a wild night last night?" James wiggled his eyebrows up and down at his best friend.

Sirius noticed a movement from across the table, and only then realized that Dorcas was seated directly across from James. She was carefully avoiding his eye, which just made Sirius even more upset.

"No," Sirius said shortly.

James looked puzzled for a minute, but then grinned again. "Oh, I get it. She was a dud, wasn't she? I don't know why they upset you so much; you're bound to get a few lousy lays when you don't have standards!" James laughed. "I assume you just took care of it in the shower anyway."

"You're such a pig," Lily muttered from beside him, swatting his arm.

Sirius noticed Dorcas flinch and clenched his fork tightly.

"_No,"_ he growled. "Just drop it James, okay?"

James jaw dropped. "Um…is everything okay, Sirius?"

Sirius gritted his teeth. "Everything's just grand. Please pass the ketchup."

"But – "

"James, pass the bloody ketchup and stop with the third degree!"

James stared at his friend in complete shock, and silently passed him the ketchup. Sirius applied copious amounts to his eggs and began eating, glowering at his plate and not saying a word.

After a moment, he saw James turn to Lily and strike up a conversation with her. He barely registered how friendly the two seemed with one another, as he tried to glance at Dorcas without her noticing he was looking. Staring up from underneath his lashes, Sirius had a full view of Dorcas, who was twirling a strand of hair around one of her fingers and watching him nervously. She had her bottom lip between her teeth and was wearing a look of innocent confusion. Sirius had to suppress a groan and he quickly looked away from her. She was so beautiful he couldn't believe he had never noticed it before. Shaking his head angrily, Sirius pushed himself away from the table and stormed out of the Great Hall without acknowledging anyone.

"What's the matter with him?" Lily asked James, looking genuinely concerned.

James frowned in confusion. "I've no idea, but knowing Sirius, this can't be good."

Dorcas pushed her plate away from her at that moment, feeling sick to her stomach. She didn't understand why Sirius was acting this way. He had gotten exactly what he wanted; he had slept with her, and before it had to get any more awkward she had offered him an excuse to never have to discuss it again. Sleeping with random girls was what Sirius was known for, so why was he so upset over the night they spent together?

"Dorcas, are you even listening to me?"

Dorcas' snapped her attention to Lily, who was looking at her with obvious concern.

"Er – yeah – yeah I think so too. Listen I'm going to go finish that…essay," Dorcas mumbled, and gathering her things, she hurried out of the Great Hall, feeling more confused than ever.

James turned to Lily, alarm and confusion etched across his face. "You asked Dorcas to pass the bacon and her response was 'yeah I think so too'?"

Lily shook her head, smiling slightly but looking worried. "That's Dorcas for you. Something must be up with her."

James sighed and craned his neck to look over Lily's head at Remus who was awkwardly trying to converse with an equally awkward Mary MacDonald, and Alice and Peter, who were eating beside one another but not saying a word.

"We have weird friends," he admitted, glancing back at Lily. She met his gaze with a very serious one.

"Believe me, I already knew that."

**A.N : I tried to get this up as fast as possible for you! Not much happens, but you see everyone's reactions from the previous night and I enjoyed writing it so hopefully you enjoyed reading it!**

**The faster I update the more reviews I hope for! Even just to say you like it or hate it, I just like the feedback!**


	14. hot and cold

Throughout the rest of the day Sirius remained sulky and Dorcas remained quiet. James kept shooting Sirius furtive glances, but didn't make any comment toward Sirius. Sirius knew he had hurt James by snapping at him earlier at breakfast, but he couldn't bring himself to apologize. He had enough on his mind right now without James harassing him.

The Marauders were lolling around beside the fire, ignoring the pile of homework they still had to complete for the next day and focusing on more trivial things. James was reading a Quidditch book and Remus and Peter were playing chess. Sirius sat stiffly on the same couch as James, glaring in to the fire and sighing every now and then. The common room was surprisingly empty, as it was lunch time and most people were still down in the Great Hall.

At that moment, Dorcas, Lily and Alice arrived in the common room, chatting animatedly. At least, Lily and Alice were conversing while Dorcas trailed after them, looking unusually sombre. Lily seated herself in an armchair beside James, and gave him a genuine smile when he glanced up from his Quidditch book to greet her. Alice perched herself on the armchair beside Lily while Dorcas, being unable to find an adequate excuse to get out of this situation, plopped down on the ground at Lily's feet, leaning her head against Lily's legs.

Lily and James began talking excitedly about the upcoming Masquerade Ball they had been planning, while Alice became interested in the chess match between Remus and Peter, throwing in some helpful tips now and then. Dorcas fiddled with a loose thread on the sleeve of her robes and pretended to be deep in thought while Sirius continued to glare at the fireplace as though it had personally offended him. The group eventually lulled into a state of comfortable silence until, quite suddenly, Lily let out an audible gasp.

"Dorcas, what's that on your arm?!"

Sirius nearly cricked his neck as he shot upright, turning to glance at Lily and Dorcas. The other Marauders and Alice also looked surprised, and focused their attention on the two girls.

Dorcas glanced down at her arm where Lily was pointing, and noticed a large, purple bruise just above her elbow. Dorcas nearly let out a groan as she frantically tried to come up with an excuse.

"Erm… it's a bruise," she said lamely. Lily rolled her eyes.

"No kidding. I meant, how did you get it?"

Remus' eyes widened as he examined it. "It looks like someone grabbed you! Dorcas, seriously, what happened?"

Sirius squirmed uncomfortably on the couch, trying to look as though he, too, had no idea how Dorcas had gotten such a peculiar bruise, yet his stomach was writhing. Had he really grabbed her that hard?

"Nothing happened you guys, calm down," Dorcas said, forcing out a small laugh as if to show it was no big deal. "I ran into a wall yesterday, I think it's probably from that."

James exchanged a glance with Lily and Remus, looking uncomfortable.

"Er, Dorcas?" He said nervously. "Are you sure someone didn't, well, grab you or something?"

Dorcas narrowed her eyes at James, who gulped. "No, James! No one grabbed me! I would tell you guys if someone did that, and we would all currently be planning a massive prank for revenge." She let out another laugh but everyone around her remained quite serious.

Remus reached out and wrapped his hand around Dorcas' arm where the bruise was. She winced, causing Sirius to feel a sharp pain in his stomach at the thought that he had been the one to cause her pain.

"It just seems to match perfectly with a guy's hand wrapped too hard around your arm, Dorcas," Remus said quietly. "You could tell us, you know, if maybe someone grabbed you too hard. Even if they didn't mean to," he added quickly as Dorcas glared.

"Guys, relax!" She said loudly. "No one hurt me, no one touched me, I ran into a wall. Can we drop this, please?"

No one said anything. Suddenly, Sirius leapt to his feet and, staring at the ground, said quietly, "Dorcas, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Dorcas sighed. "What do you want?"

"Er, I meant in private," he muttered, glancing around at their friends, who were watching the pair curiously.

Dorcas groaned and pushed herself up off the floor so she was also standing. "Yeah, fine."

Sirius turned on his heel without glancing at her and started up the staircase which led to the boys' dormitory. Dorcas followed him glumly, keeping her eyes glued on the floor.

The remaining friends glanced at one another awkwardly.

"We're going to listen outside the door, yeah?" Peter finally voiced.

"Naturally," Remus and James said together, while Lily and Alice nodded fervently. The five of them got to their feet and tiptoed as quietly as they could up the boys' staircase, trying to hear Dorcas and Sirius.

Inside the room, Dorcas stood by the door with her arms crossed while Sirius paced back and forth in front of her, looking upset. She allowed this for a few minutes, until she finally spoke up impatiently.

"Somehow, I don't think you asked me up here just to watch you walk back and forth," she muttered.

Sirius stopped pacing and turned to her. He walked towards her until he was standing right in front of her. Silently, he brought his hand up to her bruise and gently wrapped his hand around her arm. His fingers matched her purple bruise perfectly. Shuddering, he pulled his hand away and put it over his eyes.

"Dorcas, I am so, _so_, sorry," he said, hating himself. "I never meant to hurt you, I was just trying to stop you from walking away from me, and I can't even begin to explain how disgusted I am with myself. I'm so sor-"

"Sirius, stop," Dorcas sighed, cutting across him. He removed his hand from his eyes and looked at her, confused.

"I know you're sorry," she continued, wishing he would step back, as she was caught between him and the door. "It's okay, honestly. I bruise easy, it doesn't even hurt. You don't need to worry about it, and we definitely don't need to talk about it. Let's just forget about everything that happened last night, alright?"

Dorcas turned her head away from him but Sirius gently cupped his hands around her face and turned her back to look at him.

"Oh my god, Dorcas, are you that blind?" He whispered. "I don't want to forget about _anything_ that happened last night."

Dorcas didn't say anything as she tried to decipher what he meant by that. Before she could think of an appropriate response, Sirius had dipped his head to kiss her, jolting her back to reality. Dorcas pushed him away and glared at him, although she came across as being confused rather than angry.

"What the hell do you want from me, Sirius?" She asked helplessly, and Sirius felt his heart break at the hurt in her voice. "First you just want to get me in bed, then you hate me, then we actually do have sex, and now instead of taking the easy way out that I offered you, you're making everything more difficult. Why? What do you want?!" Dorcas was practically shouting by the end of her rant, and her glare began to exude anger as she waited for his response.

Sirius was silent for a minute as he tried to decide the best way to explain to her how he felt. She sighed impatiently as she waited, and, after a few minutes, seemed to believe she wouldn't be getting a response. Turning towards the door, she muttered, "Never mind. I should have known you, as usual, would have no answer."

Her hand was on the door knob when Sirius placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look back at him. "I'd really rather not hurt you ever again, so instead of making me stop you from running away, do you think you could actually face a problem for once in your life and hear me out?"

Dorcas' eyes flashed angrily. "Are you suggesting I run from my problems, Black?" She growled.

Sirius shrugged. "Actually, yeah, that's exactly what I'm suggesting."

"You don't even know me – " Dorcas half-shouted, glowering at him, but Sirius cut her off.

"I know you better than you think, Dorcas. So stop trying to avoid the real issue here and just let me have my say, alright?"

Dorcas rolled her eyes but remained where she was, not saying a word.

Sirius took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "First let me just say that I am sorry. I'm sorry for being a jerk to you the past month or so, and I'm sorry for ignoring you. I'm sorry for being weird after our Hogsmeade trip, and I am especially sorry that you think I want to forget about last night. I know my reputation is against me here," he sighed and stepped closer to her, looking right into her eyes. "But I wish it wasn't. I didn't mean for last night to be a one-time hook up. I didn't mean for it to be a mistake."

Dorcas gulped, trying to make sense of what he was saying. "So the part where I asked what you want from me…?" she asked quietly, avoiding his gaze, which was trying to hold her own.

Sirius drew in a shaky breath. "Er… well I don't want anything from you, Dorcas. I … I fancy you. I just want you."

Dorcas shook her head back and forth, closing her eyes. "No you don't," she whispered so quietly Sirius couldn't be sure if that's what she had said. He opened his mouth to ask her to repeat it but she suddenly opened her eyes and glared at him.

"You are unbelievable. When have you _ever_ fancied any girl around here? And I'm just supposed to believe that you, all of a sudden, have decided you like me? After you have been a huge jerk to me these past months? Even last night you were being _horrible_ to me, and then, out of nowhere you just _kissed_ me! You are all over the place, Sirius, and I don't even know what to believe."

Sirius stared at her calmly, letting her finish. "Dorcas, now you're just making up reasons to not believe me."

"Stop it. I'm done with your mind games," Dorcas said firmly. "I don't understand how you can go from hating someone to kissing them in less than five seconds, but obviously you will do anything you can to sleep with any girl who slightly interests you."

"You are so off the mark, Dorcas," Sirius said through gritted teeth, trying to control his temper. "I'm trying to explain that I have been like this with other girls, but that is _not_ what this is about between you and I!"

"You want to know what I think?" Dorcas yelled, unable to control her temper as well as Sirius. "You're just angry I was the first one to suggest we pass off last night as a mistake. Not used to girls who don't trip over their own feet trying to spend time with you, hm? Angry that I didn't want anything more from you, aren't you? You just wish I fancied you so you could walk all over me like you do every other girl you come in contact with!"

Sirius opened his mouth to protest, but Dorcas cut across him. "I don't want to hear anything more you have to say. I won't believe anything you say anyway. You wanted to sleep with me Sirius? Well guess what, you did. So let's not pretend there's anything else here. Just stay away from me and I will gladly do the same!"

Dorcas spun around and wrenched the door open. As she stepped out of the dormitory, she turned around to face him once more. "Don't you dare tell me this time that I'm running from my problems, because I'm not. The only thing I'm running from is you."

"You are being so obtuse!" He hollered after her as she stormed down the stairs. "When you stop being a stubborn _bitch_ maybe you'll finally understand what I was trying to say!"

Sirius glared at the staircase, but Dorcas did not reappear. After a moment, however, Lily, James, Remus, Peter and Alice stuck their heads around the wall, looking stunned. The six of them stared at one another silently until Peter finally asked what they had all been wondering.

"What the bloody fuck just happened?"

Dorcas stormed angrily out the castle front doors and across the sweeping front lawn of Hogwarts. She made a beeline for the lake, and threw herself down on the grass by the deep blue waters, leaning her back against a large tree. She was shaking, although she wasn't sure if that was from the cold November air swirling around her, or from the rage she was feeling toward Sirius.

Dorcas had only been sitting there for a few minutes when she heard someone approach her from behind.

"Dorcas?"

Dorcas didn't reply, but that didn't stop Alice from taking a seat beside her.

"Remember when I found that pair of knickers under Frank's bed in fifth year?" Alice asked after a few minutes of silence. Dorcas remained quiet, but Alice took this as a sign to continue. "I was so mad at him, remember? I cried all day, but refused to tell him why I was angry. He was so confused." She let out a small laugh.

"When he finally confronted me about it and I told him why I was mad, he'd laughed at me, remember? _Laughed_. I was, if possible, even more furious at this point. Then the whole story came out. His roommate, Davy Gudgeon, had slept with a girl in his dormitory, and she had left her underwear on the floor. Frank was just as shocked as I had been when I threw the pair of knickers at him and told him I had found them under his bed. If we hadn't talked about it and heard each other's side of the story, we might've broken up."

Dorcas sighed. "This is a really stupid way of you telling me I should talk things through with Sirius instead of yelling at him loudly enough for all of my nosy friends to hear us, isn't it?"

Alice laughed again and shook her head. "Just because we care about you does not mean we're nosy. I have no idea what is going on between you and Sirius, because you won't tell me. If I don't know what's going on between you then who am I to tell you what to do?"

Dorcas didn't say anything, but stared at Alice questioningly. Alice seemed to read her mind.

"You didn't let me finish my story. Remember what you did when I told you that I thought Frank had cheated on me?"

Dorcas smiled weakly and nodded. "I ran up to him in the Great Hall and slapped him round the face."

Alice giggled. "He was so confused! Even after we resolved everything he told me he didn't really understand why you had been angry enough to hit him in front of all of our teachers! You had detention for a week, just to show him how mad you were about what he had done.

"But I knew exactly why you did it. You did it because it's always been you, me and Lily. You are my best friend, Dorcas, and just like you were there for me, I'll always be here for you. Even if I don't always know what's going on with you, I'll do my best to be there for you."

Tears welled up in Dorcas' eyes as the pressure of everything that had occurred between her and Sirius finally caught up with her. Dorcas finally turned to face Alice and noticed tears in her eyes as well. Alice reached out to hug Dorcas and Dorcas cried into her shoulder for a long time. Neither of them said anything as they sat by the lake, crying and freezing, but they didn't have to. They understood each other without saying a word.

James, Remus, Peter and Lily sat stiffly in the common room, trying as hard as they could to ignore the noises coming from the seventh year boys' dormitory. Sirius had been cursing and throwing things for nearly ten minutes, and had frightened practically everyone in the common room, who could easily hear what he was saying.

"Damn wench can't even hear me out!"

The entire common room flinched as one as Sirius' voice roared down the staircase.

"Oh for Merlin's sake, one of you please go and talk to him!" Lily whispered furiously, pointing at the three Marauders who were crammed together on the couch.

The three boys shook their heads furiously, looking scared.

"Lily, you don't understand. This is all part of Sirius' process. He gets really, really angry, throws things, curses, and we all give him a wide berth. Then, finally, he will get really, really quiet, stare at random objects blankly, and refuse to speak to us when we try. Then, finally, he will be back to his good old Sirius ways," James explained, as though it was perfectly normal.

Lily stared at the guys in amazement. "That boy has issues, and so do all of you for condoning behaviour like this. So help me, if one of you doesn't get up there and help him, I'll put you all in detention for the rest of the year."

"Lily!" The three of them hissed, glaring at her in outrage. Lily glared back and pointed at the boys' staircase, which was surprisingly silent.

"Looks like your foolish friend is currently suffering through his "really, really quiet" stage, so now is as good a time as any to try to talk to him. I don't care how you choose, but one of you get up there. _Now_."

The boys huddled together, whispering and shooting scathing looks at Lily. Finally, they all made a fist, swung it down three times and muttered together, "rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

James and Peter whooped happily as they held their "rocks" up proudly, while Remus' face whitened as he stared down at his "scissors".

"Come on, James, we all know he would listen to you the most out of all of us!" Remus said frantically, but James shrugged.

"Rules are rules, Moony. Go on, you lost the game, and if you don't hurry up Lily might hex you."

Glowering at James, Peter and Lily, Remus got to his feet, sighed heavily, and slowly started up the staircase towards his dormitory.

"Good luck," the entire common room whispered as Remus climbed the stairs out of view.

Remus reached the door and, without knocking, marched in. He immediately noticed Sirius sitting on his own bed and glaring angrily at Remus' bed.

"Can I ask what my bed may have done to upset you?" Remus asked lightly, sitting on his own bed and staring intently at his friend. Sirius shrugged, but didn't reply.

Remus took a deep breath, steadying himself. "So we could pretend I, along with everyone else, didn't hear you and Dorcas screaming at each other. We could also pretend I, along with everyone else, didn't hear you throwing things around our dormitory, screaming and cursing about how mad you were at her. Or we could skip all that and you could just tell me what's going on."

Sirius glowered at his friend. "Option one," he said shortly.

Remus rolled his eyes. "Come on, Sirius, why won't you tell any of us what's going on? What is it with you and this girl?"

Sirius didn't reply, but just stared at the ground. Remus silently cursed Lily to the deepest pits of hell as he attempted, once again, to try and get through to his very stubborn friend.

"Why don't I make some guesses and you can just tell me if I'm hot or cold, alright?" Remus asked, his lips twitching as he tried to hide a smile. Sirius groaned and opened his mouth to reply, but Remus cut across him.

"You like her."

Sirius flopped onto his back on his bed and glared darkly at the ceiling. "Warm."

"But not hot?" Remus pressed. Sirius turned his glare on his friend and Remus backtracked quickly. "Okay, okay, point made. Hmm, let's see. You slept with her?"

"Hot."

"What!" Remus shouted, leaping to his feet. "When? How? What?!"

Sirius stared at Remus coldly. "I believe the game is called "hot and cold". Your questions are inappropriate."

Remus sat back down and stared at Sirius, thinking hard. "You slept with her after our night in Hogsmeade."

"Ice cold."

"You slept with her…last night?!"

"Hot."

"You told her it was a one time thing."

"Cold, cold, cold."

"You told her it was more than a one time thing."

"….Quite warm."

"She told you it was a one time thing."

"Burning hot."

Remus gaped at his friend. He opened his mouth but Sirius, sensing some more difficult questions, shot him a pointed look.

"Right, right, stick to the game. She likes you."

"Cold."

"Now I know that one is not true," Remus said crossing his arms. "We're not playing if you're going to lie."

Sirius sat up and frowned. "I'm not lying. That's the truth. And, in case you didn't notice, I didn't want to play this game in the first place."

"Yeah, you seemed pretty against it when you were responding to all my guesses pretty quickly."

"Bloody fuck, Moony, what do you want?!" Sirius bellowed, his temper rising. "What makes you think you know how she feels when I'm the one she screamed at for half an hour today?!"

Remus threw an exasperated glance at Sirius. "Sirius, I have seen you two avoid each other, flirt with each other and scream at each other for the past three months. I'm just telling you what I have seen. But, humour me. What makes you think she doesn't like you?"

Sirius was quiet for a few minutes, until he eventually launched in to the story of what happened between him and Dorcas, starting at their trip from Hogsmeade. Remus was an excellent audience, being silent throughout the story, just as Sirius wanted. When Sirius got to the part about he and Dorcas arguing in the hallway, however, Remus interrupted.

"Padfoot, _please_ don't tell me you are the one who gave her that bruise."

Sirius bowed his head guiltily. "I didn't mean to! She told me she bruises easily! I was just so angry with her, she wouldn't hear me out, Moony! She never gives me the chance to tell her what I really want to say!"

Remus could see in Sirius' eyes that he was extremely upset that he had hurt Dorcas in any way, so instead of pressing the matter, Remus nodded and motioned for Sirius to continue. Sirius continued his story for another ten minutes, until he finally reached the part that Remus and their other friends had heard from the staircase.

"And she flings the door open, right, and says "Don't you dare tell me this time that I'm running from my problems, because I'm not. The only thing I'm running from is you.""

Remus was silent for several more minutes as he processed everything Sirius had told him. Finally, he glanced up at Sirius and sighed heavily.

"Well, Padfoot, I don't know what to say. First of all, and don't get mad when I say this, but the girl has a point. Why should she believe you when you say you fancy her when you have never had a girlfriend, and yet have had more than your fair share of interactions with the opposite sex in many different broom closets around the castle."

"She has done things like that too!" Sirius defended. "And I tried to explain that I knew my reputation was against me, but that I didn't want it to be!"

Remus shook his head tiredly. "Sirius, I think you only have two options at this point. Either you leave Dorcas alone for the rest of the year," Remus noticed the uneasy look that flashed across Sirius' face at this idea, "or you prove to her that you really, truly, like her and want to be with her."

Sirius rubbed his face furiously with his hands. "Moony, why the fuck would I try to prove I really want to be with her when she doesn't want to be with me?"

"Padfoot, if you know that girl at all, you know how she really feels about you."

Sirius remained silent for a while, but after a few moments he seemed to agree with Remus. He nodded silently and grinned at Remus, who grinned back.

"Alright, I've got another one," Remus announced. "She was good in bed."

"Moony my friend, you're so hot you're on fire with that guess."

Remus and Sirius burst out laughing and, when they entered the common room five minutes later, were still chuckling slightly.

"I see you're in a better mood," Lily noted, nodding her head at Sirius, while beaming at Remus. Sirius shrugged in response.

"It was hot and cold for a while there, but I'm feeling alright now."

Sirius caught Remus' eye as he spoke, and the two of them burst out laughing once again, causing Lily, James and Peter to glance at one another, completely bewildered.

**AN: So there's the next chapter! I love Remus' character so I wanted to show more of him, and I also really like Alice so I wanted to get a bit of her character out there as well. No JL, I'm so sorry! They're hot and heavy in the next chapter though, I promise! Lots of Dorcas and Sirius, oh my they are a dramatic pair, aren't they? **

**Also, to the 23 of you who have fav'd this story, I LOVE YOU. Review PLEASE and I'll love you even more :)**


	15. the d word

The next evening found Lily and James seated in an empty classroom off the Entrance Hall waiting for the prefects to assemble for a brief meeting. The meeting they were about to host was one Lily was extremely excited for; they would be telling the prefects of their plan to have a Masquerade Ball on Christmas Day for fourth year students and up.

Though Lily was eager to discuss plans and arrangements for the Ball, she was feeling slightly apprehensive about the attitude some of the students might take. She wanted this Ball to be a wonderful experience for everyone who attended, and hoped they would find the idea just as exciting as she did.

As though he could read her mind James spoke. "I hope the prefects are enthusiastic about your plan for the Masquerade Ball, Lily. I really think if we get everyone working together it could be amazing."

Lily beamed at him, something she found quite easy to do considering less than three months ago she had vowed up and down that he was the worst human to grace the planet. She couldn't believe how sincere he seemed when he spoke to her lately; it was incomparable to the cheesy compliments she was used to hearing daily from him.

"Thank you, James. I think it could be too! Hopefully we can get the prefects on board."

The two lapsed in to a comfortable silence and only spoke again when all of the prefects had assembled.

Lily and James stood to face them and James spoke first. "Okay guys, as you all know, or ought to know if you're not completely daft, Christmas Day is exactly one month from today."

The prefects nodded and grinned, already enjoying the excitement of the approaching holiday.

"So that means we've got a lot of work to do," Lily explained, looking down her clipboard. "We've got to do extra patrolling seeing as the holidays tend to bring out more mischief in some of our immature classmates," at this Lily glared teasingly at James, who whistled innocently, "we've got to decorate the Great Hall, and this year James and I were thinking of doing something else for the holidays."

Lily paused and James took over. "This year we were thinking of hosting a ball of sorts on Christmas Day. Lily had the idea of a Masquerade theme, which means we would all wear masks with our dress robes. We were thinking first through third years could stay until nine, and fourth years and up could stay until midnight."

None of the prefects spoke and Lily held her breath anxiously as she waited for their reaction.

"That sounds amazing!" Victoria Lamuerre, a seventh year Hufflepuff finally piped up, looking thrilled.

"Definitely," some of the others chimed in, nodding and discussing plans with those sitting beside them.

Lily let out the breath she was holding. "I'm glad you guys like the idea! We'll need to take up most of our next prefect meeting planning it, but I think that's all for today. We'll see you all back here this time next Monday."

The prefects gathered their things, talking excitedly about Christmas and the upcoming Ball. Remus loitered behind the others, waiting for Lily and James but James called to him, "we've got to sort through these reports, Remus, we'll meet you in the common room!"

As the last of the prefects cleared out Lily and James flopped on to their chairs, grinning at one another.

"I'm so glad they like the idea!" Lily gushed, her eyes shining with excitement. "With their help we can definitely pull this off."

James smiled at her as he reached for the papers she was handing him. Their hands met and James' heart did several somersaults as his eyes met hers. Shaking that off and hoping she hadn't noticed the sappy expression on his face, James quickly said, "I knew they would, it really was a wonderful idea, Lily."

Lily laughed, bending over her own stack of reports and quickly checking through them. "If I recall correctly, when I first mentioned the idea to you, you seemed more excited by the thought that phantoms would be attending the ball, and not the actual ball itself."

"While it is true that phantoms almost always cause me to become quite excitable, even after you explained that phantoms would _not_ be joining us I was still excited about your idea. To be quite honest, I find that accusation to be hurtful and unfounded," he replied with a smirk.

Lily could think of no response to this so she merely stuck her tongue out at him, causing both of them to laugh.

After a few more minutes of comfortable silence, Lily spoke again.

"Did Remus ever tell you what he and Sirius talked about last night when we sent him up to the common room?" She inquired, marking the paper in front of her and hoping she seemed uninterested.

James stared at her blankly for a moment. "No he didn't. But, I mean, I assume they talked about Dorcas, don't you think?"

Lily rolled her eyes, but a small smile let James know she wasn't actually annoyed. "You are such a dolt, James Potter. Of course they talked about Dorcas, but I wonder what conclusion they came to. How does Sirius feel about all this? He didn't say two words to any of us girls all day, but he seemed to be in a decent mood."

"First of all, I am _not_ a dolt. Second of all, I didn't bother asking what conclusion they came to." James frowned. "What do you think it was?"

Lily rolled her eyes again but let out a laugh this time. "I don't know! If I knew I wouldn't be asking you now, would I?"

James furrowed his brow. "No, I suppose not," he mused. "Well, I'll have to take matters in to my own hands, then, and ask Sirius myself what all this drama with Dorcas is."

"Excellent. Let me know what he says, won't you?"

"Not if you keep calling me a dolt, I won't."

"James!"

"Lily!"

"Only dolts mock, you know."

"That's it, I'm telling you nothing, woman, nothing."

"I was joking! If you, King of Pranks, cannot take a joke, the world as we know it must be ending."

"I believe that's mockery, you dolt."

"Now look who's calling who a dolt! You can't have it both ways!"

"Fine. Starting at the count of three, we stop calling each others dolts, got it?"

"Alright. Dolt."

"Hey!"

"You hadn't started counting yet so that one was okay!"

"Okay, fine. One, two, three!"

The two stared at one another silently, arms crossed.

"Er, I thought we were just agreeing not to say the "D" word. Why aren't we talking?" James asked.

"Well, that would be because until you get information from Sirius, I can think of nothing to say to you that would involve anything other than the "D" word."

"Why do I have to be the one to get the information here? Why can't you ask Dorcas?!"

Lily snorted. "Oh, please. Dorcas won't be saying anything to _anyone_ about this. She keeps things very close to the chest, Dorcas does. Besides, Sirius is easier than a prostitute on duty; he'll tell you everything you need to know in five seconds flat."

James stared at her blankly.

"What?" She asked uncomfortably, wondering why he looked so puzzled.

"What the bloody hell is a protist?" James asked.

Lily laughed. "A woman who has sex with men for money."

James' eyes widened. "What are you doing mentioning protists to me?!" He practically yelped.

"Oh for Heaven's sake, James, I just meant Sirius is easy!"

"What does Sirius being easy to sleep with have to do with anything?"

"I didn't mean easy to sleep with! I meant easy to get information out of!"

James' brow furrowed again. "Well then how do protists come into this?"

Lily sighed. "_Prostitutes._ And just never mind. The point is, Dorcas will not spill the beans, so we will have to get Sirius to."

"You are a strange girl, Lily," James replied, still looking confused.

"Yes, well, I'm not the only strange one around here," she muttered. James opened his mouth to reply but Lily cut across him. "I wish I knew what was going on with Dorcas and Sirius. I mean, I'm quite sure they fancy each other, but I'm sure there's more to it than that."

"Sirius _fancies_ her? I don't know about that, Lily. Sirius has never fancied _anyone._ Ever."

"Well, I think he does now," Lily said pushing her marked reports into her bag and then looking at James. "It drives me insane when two people very obviously fancy one another and do everything in their power to avoid it."

James leaned towards Lily and tugged the last report out of her hand. "Yeah, that is annoying. Some people never understand their own feelings. Sirius and Dorcas are pretty stubborn though, maybe they're just avoiding it."

"That would be just like them. Merlin, the person you want is five inches away from you and you can't just reach out to them? Only those two would be so stubborn," Lily mused.

"Yeah, I'll say," James said, laughing. "Takes a special kind of dumb to not realize when you fancy someone. Those two are insane."

"Yeah," Lily mumbled, staring into James' eyes and feeling a very uncomfortable squirm in the pit of her stomach.

For a moment the two simply looked at each other. Then James pushed his chair away and got to his feet. "Well, I'm dead tired. We're done those reports for the month of November now, so we should head up to the dormitory."

Lily's eyes snapped back in to focus and she swung her bag onto her shoulder quickly. "Yes, yes you're right. Let's go up then, and remember, get information out of Sirius!"

The pair headed towards the dormitory together, not speaking. James whistled idly as they climbed, but Lily was feeling very distracted and couldn't wait to speak privately with Alice and Dorcas.

As they clambered through the portrait hole, Lily realized that would be impossible for the next few hours, as Dorcas, Alice, Remus, Peter and Sirius were all seated around the fireplace, chatting amiably. Dorcas was staring vacantly into the fire and not participating to the conversation while Sirius was picking at a loose thread on his robes and shooting furtive glances over to where Dorcas was sitting.

Lily plopped down at Alice's feet and stretched her feet toward the fire, revelling in the warmth. Sirius slid over on the loveseat he was perched on so James could sit too, and the seven of them sat peacefully for a moment.

"Want to get drunk?" Sirius asked suddenly, looking expectantly at all of his friends. The other six stared at him.

"Its nine o'clock on a Monday evening," Alice responded, looking astounded. "We have classes tomorrow. Are you crazy?"

"Possibly," Sirius said thoughtfully. "But I'm also bored. C'mon, it'll be fun!"

James turned to Lily. "You know Lily, I think Sirius is a "D" word if I ever saw one."

Lily burst into laughter while the others glanced around, confused.

"What "D" word are we talking about here?" Sirius chimed in, looking thoughtful. "Douche? Dyke? Dick? Dickface? Dickhead? Dickwad?"

"It is none of those. Stop it, you're disgusting me," Lily said while the others laughed.

Sirius looked determined. "None of those, hm? Alright, what about Douchebag? Dumbass? Dumbfuck? Dumbshit?"

"STOP!" six voices yelled at him, most sounding amused, while Dorcas and Lily just sounded annoyed.

"Well then tell me what it is!" Sirius whined.

"The word, Sirius, is "dolt"", Lily said coldly.

Sirius paused. "You and James are so boring," he said sadly. Two pillows thrown by James and Lily immediately smacked him in the face causing all of them, even Sirius, to laugh loudly.

* * *

Later in the boys' dormitory, Sirius sat on his bed reading a Muggle magazine that portrayed a nice car and a beautiful, scantily clad woman on it, while James and Remus played an intense game of Wizard's Chess. Peter had passed out early, needing quite a bit more sleep than the other three, although he did assure them that if they had not been so boring he would have gladly stayed up later.

"Checkmate," Remus said smugly, as James' king took off his crown and threw it at the feet of Remus' queen.

"Damn. I hate playing against you, Moony. Sirius, come play me," James said, gathering his defeated pieces and putting them in their box.

"No. I always lose."

"Exactly," James said, grinning. Sirius glared at him over the top of his magazine but made no reply.

"Alright, I'm going to take a shower, then I'm following Wormtail's lead and heading to bed," Remus announced, standing up and stretching.

Sirius groaned. "Your showers take forever, Moony. Let me get in there first."

Remus glared at him. "They do not take forever. They take the normal amount of time. You can have the bathroom when I'm finished."

Remus stalked into the bathroom and closed the door firmly before Sirius could say anything more. Sirius sighed loudly and went back to his magazine, occasionally turning it on its side to examine a sideways picture.

James fiddled with a hole in the blanket of his bed, and decided now was the perfect time to ask Sirius about Dorcas.

"Uh, Sirius. Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Course you can, Prongs," Sirius said briskly, turning a page and grinning as he gazed at a picture of a woman in a very small amount of leather and straddling a motorcycle.

"Er, well, it's about Dorcas."

Sirius dropped the magazine on to the bed beside him and turned to face James. "What about her?" He asked in a tone of forced calm.

"Um, well, now don't get upset with me Padfoot, but I just feel like I don't know what's going on with you these days. Fighting with Dorcas, disappearing the night of the Quidditch game? What has been happening?"

"Nothing," Sirius said flatly, not meeting James' eye.

"Padfoot," James whined, "You told Remus what was wrong, didn't you? We're practically brothers, why can't you tell me?"

Sirius was silent for a long moment. "It's embarrassing," he finally grunted.

"What's embarrassing? I won't laugh, I promise. I just want to know what's going on!" James pleaded.

Surveying his best friend, Sirius nodded. "Alright, I'll tell you what's happened. But one peep out of you before I'm finished my story and I'll never tell you anything again. Understood?"

James nodded and mimed zipping his mouth closed and throwing away the key. Sirius grinned and launched into the same story he had told Remus just the other day, starting with his sudden obsession with sleeping with Dorcas and ending with the enormous fight that had occurred just twenty four hours ago.

True to his word, James did not utter a sound through Sirius' entire story, even when Sirius admitted to being the one who gave Dorcas the bruise on her arm. As Sirius finished however, James timidly raised his hand.

Sirius exhaled sharply. "You can talk now, you twerp."

James smiled, then his expression became serious. "So I think I'm stating the obvious here when I say you fancy her, yes?"

Sirius groaned. "I don't know. I guess so. Is this how it feels?"

"How what feels?"

"How it feels when you think about Lily! Goodness, you really are a twerp, aren't you?" Sirius said exasperatedly.

"First Lily calls me a dolt and now you're calling me a twerp. I find this very unfair!" James said crossing his arms and pouting. Sirius glared at him and James hastily uncrossed his arms.

"Right, right, more important matters at hand. Alright, well when I think of Lily, I kind of get this warmth in my body. It starts in my heart and it just kind of goes down to my belly and then stretches along my arms and legs, so even the tips of my fingers and toes feel it. My stomach swoops, like I've just missed a step going downstairs, you know? And my heart feels like it's doing somersaults. As a result, my face sometimes flushes and I breathe a bit faster then usual. I also used to get this ridiculous notion in my mind that whenever she was around I had to do all I could do impress her. I still get that, mind you, but I've learned that it never works out in my favour, so I generally ignore that particular feeling. Do you get any of that stuff?"

Sirius looked at James for a long moment, his expression giving nothing away.

"Er, Sirius?"

Looking at his hands, Sirius mumbled, "you love her."

"Uh, sorry, I think I heard you incorrectly. Excuse me?"

"You love Lily, don't you?"

James blinked, processing the question. "You know, if you had asked me that a month ago, I would have said yes. But now, I don't know what to say. I fancy Lily _so_ much, but the more I get to know her, the more I feel for her. I don't think I love her right now but I know this much; if I got the chance to be with her, I would love her more than anyone ever could. I would love her more than I love anything. I would do anything for her and I love the idea of loving her. I like Lily so much it's hard to explain, but I don't love her. Not yet, at least. I will someday, but now is just not the right time."

Sirius sighed. "You sound like a bloody tool."

"Well sorry for getting all mushy on you, but that's how I feel. You can go vomit now."

"I don't want to vomit. I'm…I'm _jealous_ of you. I've never felt like that before. I don't know if I ever will." Sirius turned away from James, wishing he could take back what he had just blurted out.

James was deeply surprised by Sirius' declaration. "Sirius, you will some day. Dorcas could be for you what Lily is for me. Don't deny feelings for Dorcas, because I know they're there. If you have them now, what makes you think you will never be in love?"

"Because," Sirius said quietly, "she's the only person who has ever made me feel this way, and she doesn't want me back. Moony told me I should just do all I can to make her see she fancies me, but I can't do that. I can't put myself out there with the risk of getting shut down. I don't know how these feelings started but I don't think they'll ever go away."

"That's not a bad thing, Padfoot! Tell Dorcas how you feel and – "

"No!" Sirius said, so sharply James stopped mid-sentence. "I can't tell her because then I would be giving her the power to hurt me, James. No girl is going to get that from me, especially some girl who doesn't feel the same way about me."

"Sirius, you don't know she doesn't feel that way," James reasoned.

"It's not a risk I want to take. She told me to just leave her alone and that's what I'm going to do. Dorcas Meadowes is the biggest nuisance I have ever met, and she's messing with me in ways I do _not_ like nor want. She doesn't want me? Fine. I'm not giving her the satisfaction of knowing I want her."

Sirius rolled over and extinguished the lamp beside his bed so the dormitory was plunged into darkness. James pulled his covers over himself and lay in his bed, not knowing what to say.

"Besides," Sirius spoke from his bed, "It's not like the god-damned wench would believe me anyway."

To that, James had no response.

**A.N : Again, sorry for the delay. This should have been up weeks ago, but I really have been slacking. First year university is coming my way in twelve days, so September will be a hard month to write during. However, I should have at least one (possibly two) more chapters posted before then to hold you over, and once I get into routine I'll be back in business! Review, review, review :) love you all!**


	16. rumors and a girls night

The next few days went by normally, or as normal as it ever could be at Hogwarts. James and Lily had been working tirelessly on setting up for Christmas and the Masquerade Ball. They were rarely seen out of each other's company, which had started quite the gossip around the school.

"I heard they're, like, officially dating now," Brandy Thompson stage whispered to the girl beside her as Lily and James walked past.

"Yeah, they are, but I heard James doesn't even _like_ her. He got drunk one night and had sex with her, and she's _totally_ pregnant. He's just staying with her for the baby," the girl with Brandy said, not bothering to keep her voice down.

"Oh my god, you're so right. Check her stomach, is it just me or does she actually look pregnant? She does, doesn't she? She looks _so_ pregnant!"

Lily looked down at her stomach and then threw a disgusted look at the two girls, who appeared not to notice.

"This is getting ridiculous," Lily groaned to James as they turned a corner, finally blocking out Brandy's obnoxious voice.

"I know," James said, trying as hard as he could to not smile. He didn't succeed however, and Lily noticed the corners of his mouth twitch.

"James Potter it's not funny! These crazy people think I'm pregnant!" Lily hissed, smacking his arm hard.

"First of all, ouch," James grumbled, looking pointedly at his arm. Lily appeared unapologetic and crossed her arms irritably. "Second of all, Lily, it's just idle gossip. No one _really _believes the bullshit that circles through the Hogwarts gossip chain."

"You two have some nerve not telling me! Lily darling, pregnant with Prongs Jr.? How long have you two been keeping this secret?!" Sirius shouted from the other end of the hall, causing every other student in the corridor to glance first at the horrified looks on Lily and James' face, and then to Lily's stomach.

"Padfoot, you're an idiot," James sighed, rolling his eyes. "Lily's not pregnant you bloody moron! Don't you think I would have been singing from the Astronomy tower if she'd let me sleep with her?"

The students standing around Lily, James and Sirius let out a collective gasp. "Oh my god, did you just hear? James wants to sleep with Lily Evans!"

Sirius let out a dramatic sigh and turned to the younger boy who had spoken. "Duh, you prat. Have you _been_ here for the past few years? That's old news! Now him getting her pregnant, that's much bigger. Will you name it Sirius, regardless of gender?" Sirius asked eagerly, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"I AM NOT PREGNANT!" Lily screamed, causing everyone to jump in shock and then stare at the Head Girl, mouths open.

"Yes, you heard correctly, the Head Girl shouted. James and I are co-Heads. _Obviously_ we are required to interact occasionally, you bloody idiots. Any more gossip about James or I and I will take fifty points from your house!"

Looking alarmed, the students began racing out of the hallway, avoiding eye contact with the Head Girl and Boy and muttering frantically to one another as they left.

Lily sighed rubbing her temples. "Thank Merlin. Now, let's get to the library, I want to finish that Potions essay that's due Monday."

Upon hearing no response, Lily looked up at the two boys. They were staring at her as if she had grown an extra head. "What?" She asked, looking confused.

"You just shouted at students!" James said, looking stunned. "You used your Head Girlship to blackmail students in to not gossiping about you. You – you …" James trailed off, unsure how to finish his sentence.

"You acted like a Marauder," Sirius put in, looking impressed.

"Yes, well, we all knew no good would come from hanging around you boys more often," she mumbled, smiling slightly.

Sirius and James beamed at her. "I am so proud," James said, putting an arm around her and, although he didn't know it, causing butterflies to erupt in Lily's stomach. "Lily Evans acting like a Marauder. Who knew this day would come?"

Sirius applauded obnoxiously and wiped a fake tear from his eye. "I have a speech prepared, hang on…" He fumbled around in his pockets, looking for a piece of paper.

"Stop it you two," Lily groaned, making no effort to move away from James' arm and feeling irritated at herself for not completely hating him touching her. "I am going to the library now and you are only coming if you promise to work on your Potions essay."

"Of course I'm going to, that's why we left the common room anyway," James said, removing his arm and not noticing the disappointed and somewhat confused look flashing across Lily's face.

"Well, I'm not even going to pretend that I plan on doing that essay at all, so looks like I'm out," Sirius said cheerfully and after waving a hearty goodbye he bounded up the hallway and away from James and Lily.

"Shall we?" James asked gesturing towards the library doors at the other end of the hall. Unable to find an excuse for suddenly wanting to be out of his company, Lily had no choice but to nod and follow him silently into the stuffy library.

Luckily for Lily, Madam Pince seemed to be in a terrible mood that day, and prowled the library, glaring at everyone and kicking anyone out who was found talking. James and Lily remained silent for the entire hour they worked, or in Lily's case, tried to work.

Lily was feeling very annoyed and uncomfortable about all the rumours that were circling about her and James, although she wasn't sure why. Feeling annoyed was quite understandable; people gossiping about her in any way drove her mad, and especially seeing as this gossip was so absurd.

However, if Lily really thought through why the gossip made her uncomfortable, she could only reach one conclusion. She had no idea how James was taking the gossip, and she really wanted to know how he felt about it. Was he annoyed people were making up stories about him? Happy they involved James and she dating, or even more odd, sleeping together? Or, on the flip side, did this annoy him, hinder their friendship, and make him see that he had been foolish in ever wanting to date her before? Was he angry with her because of these rumours? He didn't seem it, but she could never be quite sure…he was always so careful to hide his emotions since their fragile friendship had begun.

If Lily thought through _why_ she wanted to know how James was feeling about the gossip, she would most likely find things she didn't want to know. So instead, she brushed off the butterflies she got in her stomach when he touched her, or the somersault her heart did when he smiled at her. She dedicated her thoughts to obsessing over how he felt, rather than wondering why she was so obsessed with this thought.

"And…done!" James said, scribbling his name at the top of the parchment with a flourish. "That essay was brutal! Finished Lily?"

"What?" Lily asked distractedly, looking down at her parchment. The only new word she had added to her half-completed essay was "moonstone".

"Oh, yes I'm done. Just finished a moment ago," she lied, subtly putting her hand over the bottom of the parchment while she rolled it up. "Let's make our way to the common room, then, I'm beat."

They exited the library and began the long walk up to the Gryffindor common room. The two walked in comfortable silence until James spoke.

"Want a game of chess before bed? I know you lost last time, but quite honestly, I think it's good for you to lose something for once in your life," James said, smirking. A few months earlier Lily would have taken James' smirk as a sign of cruel mockery, but she knew him better now, and knew that he was just teasing her. However, she also knew it would be unwise to spend any more time than necessary in James' presence until she worked out her…feelings.

"Er…no, not tonight James. I'm awfully tired. Perhaps tomorrow though, although I can assure you, you will lose," she added, seeing his disappointed expression.

James grinned. "That I doubt. However, we shall see. Tomorrow, then."

Lily nodded and neither spoke until they reached the Fat Lady and James gave the password.

"Goodnight," Lily said, waving to James who waved back happily. Lily climbed the girl's staircase, hoping either Alice or Dorcas was there so she could discuss her strange feelings towards James with them. Pushing open the door, Lily entered her dormitory to find Dorcas lying on her bed and screaming angrily into her pillow.

"Dorcas? What are you doing?!" Lily shouted, rushing over and tapping her best friend on the shoulder. Dorcas froze mid-shout and turned her face to look up at Lily.

"Hey, Lils, you're back early," Dorcas said brightly, attempting to look cheerful but coming across as though she were insane. "Have fun with James?"

Lily rolled her eyes at her friend. "Dorcas, you have always been rubbish at changing the topic. What the _hell _were you screaming about?"

"Oh…um, stubbed my toe," Dorcas invented wildly, trying to look innocent. Lily scoffed.

"Also rubbish at lying. The truth, please," Lily said sternly.

Dorcas glared the bed darkly. "I hate Black."

Lily stared. "You're screaming into a pillow because you hate Sirius?" she asked slowly.

Dorcas nodded.

"Right…well what did he do?"

"He didn't do anything, Lily, alright? He isn't speaking to me, or looking at me, or acknowledging my existence. I may as well be invisible when he is around," Dorcas said sourly. "Classic fuck and chuck."

Lily's eyebrows rose as she surveyed her friend skeptically. "Did you not ask Sirius to avoid you at all costs?" She asked.

"Well, yes, but – "

"And did you not tell him to never talk to you again?"

"Technically, but – "

"And did you not tell him to stay out of your life and you would do the same to him?"

"Lily you're not letting me –"

"So if we can admit that all three statements are true, then he is just doing what you asked him to do. How can you blame him for that?"

"What are you, 'Defender of Sirius Black' now?" Dorcas asked angrily. "I'm allowed to be mad at him if I want to, Lily!"

Lily stared at Dorcas. "Dorcas, there's no need to jump down my throat," Lily said, stung. "You're being illogical and you know it."

Dorcas shrugged. "If Sirius Black really liked me and didn't think I was just another conquest he would know me better than to listen to me," she said stubbornly.

Lily's eyebrows rose even higher. "That doesn't really make sense, Dorcas. You were very adamant about telling him to stay away from you."

Dorcas punched her pillow. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Look, I don't want to talk about him, okay?"

"But Dorcas, you can't possibly think Sirius is ditching you just like he ditched every other girl he slept with. From what I understand he tried to admit you meant more to him than any other girl he had been with," Lily said reasonably.

"I'm just…confused. I don't want him to talk to me because I think anything he is going to say is bullshit," Dorcas sighed.

Lily bit her lip. "That's a bit unreasonable, Dorcas."

"Well why doesn't he just prove to me that what he is saying isn't bullshit? Why can't he just prove himself instead of using empty words and trying to kiss me instead of talking?" Dorcas said angrily.

"I – I don't know Dorcas. Maybe you should just talk to him, seeing as that is what you obviously want to do. That way you can get the answers you want."

Dorcas glowered at the floor. "I'm not talking to him," she said flatly.

"Dorcas –"

"Lily, I'm sorry for being a bitch to you just now but I _really_ don't want to talk about it. I'm going to bed." With that, Dorcas gave Lily an apologetic shrug and wandered into the bathroom.

Dorcas closed the door behind her and Lily heard the shower start. With a groan, Lily flopped onto her own bed, feeling that if she didn't soon discuss her own problems with her best friends her head was going to explode.

* * *

The next day the Marauders, Lily, Alice and Dorcas were seated in the Great Hall eating dinner. James and Lily were discussing the Ball in excited tones with one another and were completely oblivious to the mutterings and pointing that was being sent their way.

"It's actually cute, isn't it?" Alice said in a low voice to Dorcas, whom she was sitting beside. Dorcas, who had been staring intently at Sirius' bent head, jumped slightly when she heard Alice's voice, and glanced over at her.

"What's cute?" Dorcas asked, confused. Alice rolled her eyes.

"If you were more aware of your surroundings and less aware of a certain black-haired, grey-eyed manwhore, you would notice James and Lily sitting side by side and talking as if they're the best of friends," Alice scolded, nodding her head in the direction of James and Lily, who were indeed sitting quite close to one another.

Ignoring Alice's first comment, Dorcas glanced up and stared in mild shock at the Head Boy and Girl.

"Merlin," she breathed, all thoughts of Sirius finally gone from her mind, "will you look at that?"

"Apparently we're not the only ones who've noticed," Remus whispered from beside Dorcas, glancing around the Great Hall. Dorcas and Alice whipped their heads around to look in the direction Remus was indicating.

Many students along the House tables were staring and pointing at James and Lily. The Slytherins were feigning disinterest, but their eyes kept flicking between James and Lily as though they couldn't believe their eyes. Many of the girls from the other house tables were looking as though they had never seen such a romantic sight. Many of the boys simply looked shocked. Even several of the professors along the staff table were staring at the pair with their mouths open.

Scattered along the tables, however, were people who looked quite angry at the fact that their Head Boy and Girl seemed rather cozy with one another. Many girls who had loyally and avidly followed James Potter's Quidditch career, and made a point to position themselves at the entrance or exit to all of his classes, looked less than happy. They were glaring at Lily and muttering to one another spitefully. Several boys also looked irritated that James Potter was, yet again, getting everything he ever wanted. One boy in particular looked as though he was one second away from hexing the life out of James. This was, of course, Severus Snape.

Had Lily and James noticed this, James may have felt his ego rise exponentially, taken the time to hex Snape into next week, and immediately discussed the progress he had made regarding Lily Evans with his three best friends. Lily, on the other hand, would feel annoyed and angry that so many people had taken notice to her, and that they continued to make assumptions about her and James. However, as they were so wrapped up in their discussion with one another, everything else passed their notice.

Dorcas chanced a half-glance in Sirius' direction. It seemed he had finally pulled himself out of his reverie and was now staring half in confusion and half in excitement at his best friend. Sensing Sirius was about to ruin everything, Dorcas quickly balled up her napkin and threw it across the table at him. Sirius jumped and stared at Dorcas, bewildered.

"What was that for?" Sirius asked, speaking to her for the first time in almost a week. Dorcas felt her stomach erupt in butterflies and suddenly felt immensely stupid for throwing her napkin at him. She shouldn't have gotten involved at all, and now she had to talk back to him.

"Just, don't interrupt them," Dorcas mumbled, hoping Lily and James didn't realize she was talking about them. She looked up and met Sirius' eyes for the first time in a week. For a moment, no one said anything; even Lily and James were staring between their two best friends in confusion.

"Um, alright, Dorcas," Sirius said in a low voice.

Dorcas shivered, hearing him say her name. It brought back memories of the night they had spent together and made Dorcas want, more than anything, to get up from the table and run straight out of the Great Hall. However, if she did that then Sirius would know the effect he had on her, and might try to convince her how he felt about her. The last thing she wanted was to believe his lies, so, with a tremendous effort, Dorcas looked away from Sirius and picked up her fork to continue eating her dinner.

Lily and Alice exchanged a knowing look and glanced between Sirius and Dorcas. Dorcas was picking at her food, not really eating, while Sirius was staring at her, as if willing her to look at him again. The people in the Great Hall that had been staring at James and Lily a moment ago were now staring avidly at Sirius and Dorcas.

Lily opened her mouth uncertainly, as if to say something to Dorcas. Alice, however, shook her head fervently.

"Hey, Dorcas, Lily, let's have a girl's night tonight, okay? Truth or dare, chocolate, facials and boy talk, yeah?" Alice asked, looking genuinely excited at the idea.

Lily nodded. "Great idea, Alice! We haven't had a good old-fashioned girl's night in ages! Want to, Dorcas?"

Dorcas did not raise her head, as she could feel a certain pair of grey eyes boring into her skull, but tried to make her voice as eager as possible. "Definitely! Let's start now, I'm not hungry anymore."

Lily and Alice nodded in agreement, while the boys looked rather affronted.

"What about us, then? We like truth or dare! We like chocolate! We like to talk about boys! Are we invited?" James asked, shooting Lily a puppy dog face. Lily laughed and pushed his head away from her.

"No, you are not. Dense you boys may be, but when we specifically say _girl's_ night, it's already been determined that no boys are allowed. Sorry, see you boys tomorrow!"

And with that the girls swung their bags onto their shoulders and walked out of the Great Hall, eager to have a night all to themselves.

* * *

"Okay, Alice, truth or dare?"

Alice swallowed the large piece of chocolate she had been munching on and surveyed Dorcas skeptically. "I'm much too cowardly to accept a dare from you, Dorcas, so I pick truth."

Dorcas groaned. "Truth is so boring! I like dares," she said, grinning evilly.

"We know," Lily and Alice said together, causing all three girls to laugh.

"Fine, dare then, although I'm sure I'll regret this," Alice sighed dramatically. Dorcas' face immediately lit up.

"Alright, Alice, I dare you to go to the Marauders dormitory and make Remus give you the underwear he is currently wearing. Get it from him however you want, but you can't tell him it's a dare and you can't make one of his friends take it from him – _you_ have to get it."

Alice looked mortified. Dorcas and Lily burst into hysterical laughter and high-fived.

"Oh, Dorcas, your dares terrify me, but you're hilarious," Lily chortled, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Guys….I'm not doing that," Alice moaned.

"Have to. You have the right to change one dare to a truth _or_ one truth to a dare but you already used yours. Two hours ago when I dared you to ride a broomstick around the Quidditch pitch naked, you switched to truth. Sadly, this one you have to do," Dorcas said matter-of-factly.

Alice glared at Dorcas who grinned back slyly. "Fine," Alice said, getting to her feet. "I'll do it." She marched out of the girls' dormitory and down the staircase. Lily and Dorcas exchanged a glance, and then immediately ran down the staircase after her.

As Lily and Dorcas crept up the boys' staircase they could hear Alice's voice coming from the Marauder's dormitory.

"…could just let me see your underwear, Remus, I'd be able to tell if it's just Frank who wears that odd kind or if it's what all boys wear for underpants now," Alice was saying. There was a long pause.

"Let me just clarify here…you want to see the underwear I am wearing right now because you want to compare it to your boyfriends underwear?" Remus asked, sounding totally confused.

"Er, yes, exactly."

"Well, it just seems an odd request Alice…" Remus trailed off, sounding uncomfortable. Lily and Alice clapped a hand over their mouth to muffle their laughter.

"I wouldn't ask Remus, but I'm quite concerned about it. Could I see them, please?"

"Alice, I – I just don't feel comfortable taking off my pants in front of you, whatever the reason – "

"So, if it was a matter of life and death you wouldn't take off your pants to save me, Remus?" Alice cut across him, sounding genuinely hurt. Dorcas bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself screaming with laughter.

"Alice, come on now….not the situation at all….you're just being silly – "

"Silly, is it, that I'm worried about the choices my boyfriend makes? Today it's unique taste in underwear, what if tomorrow he's choosing to join the ranks of Voldemort? Or choosing to sleep with women behind my back? If you ask me, this situation is _life or death_, Remus. Now, take off your pants and show me your damn underwear!"

There was another pause and Lily and Dorcas heard Sirius whisper, "maybe you ought to just listen to her, Moony. I'm scared."

"Alright, Alice, er, I won't pretend I know what exactly you're accomplishing here, just put the wand down and I'll – er – take off my pants, I suppose."

"The wand is staying here, Remus. Take them off or I hex you all!"

"I haven't even said anything!" James said indignantly. Dorcas and Lily clutched their stomachs as they dissolved into silent fits of laughter on the stairs.

"Not another word. Remus, I don't have all day. Merlin only knows what Frank is doing right now."

Dorcas and Lily could hear the rustle of clothes and the clunk of what they assumed was Remus' belt hitting the floor.

"Finally," Alice sighed in relief. "_Accio_ Remus' underwear!"

Lily and Dorcas could no longer hold in their laughter. They shrieked and howled with laughter as they heard the boys shout in surprise and Remus scream, "Alice, what are you doing?!" Then Alice was hurtling out of the boys' dormitory room, holding Remus' underwear high over her head. Sirius and James were standing at the doorway looking completely shocked and the three girls, laughing uproariously, scampered down the stairs and raced up their own staircase, not stopping until they reached the safety of their dormitory.

For almost five minutes the girls just sat on their beds laughing, passing around Remus' underwear and dissolving into laughter again.

"That was the funniest thing I have ever heard," Dorcas gasped, clutching her stomach.

"I can't believe you did that Alice, I just can't believe it," Lily said, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

"Me neither," Alice chuckled, shaking Remus' underwear triumphantly. "But I did! And don't think I won't get you back for that one, Dorcas."

The girls began to laugh again, but paused when they heard a knock on the doorway.

"Who is it?" Dorcas called.

"James. Er, Remus has asked me to come get his underwear back from you."

The girls erupted into peals of laughter, and Alice wrenched the door open to reveal a sheepish looking James. He held out his hands and Alice passed him the underwear.

"Hang on," Lily said, staring at James suspiciously. "How did you get up here? The staircase turns into a slide whenever a boy climbs it."

James smirked superiorly. "My broom, of course. I've been flying up and down the stairs since my second year. Yes, I'm quite brilliant."

"Quite cocky more like," Dorcas said, causing the girls to laugh and James to grin.

"Yes, well, that too. Also, I'll ask that, should these dares continue, my underwear is left out of it," James said, grinning. The girls laughed and assured James they would leave him and his underwear alone.

* * *

As James entered his dormitory again, Remus and Sirius swooped down on him.

"Did you do it?" Sirius demanded, looking excited.

"Yep," James replied, grinning. "Wormtail has successfully entered the girls' dormitory as a rat. He's going to wait until they're changing or about to go to bed, and then scamper around making a ruckus. Girls are _terrified_ of rats; it should be a hilarious sight."

Remus groaned. "I don't even want to pay them back. I just _can't _believe Alice actually did that dare. She saw me naked guys!"

James and Sirius exchanged a glance and burst into laughter, clutching their stomachs while Remus glared at them.

"Pricks," Remus muttered.

* * *

"Dorcas, truth or dare?" Lily asked, later in the evening. The girls had just spent an hour going through some of Lily's muggle magazines and reading aloud several of the articles. Still feeling wide-awake, they had decided to re-start their game of truth or dare.

Dorcas sighed. "I've already made a second year wear my bra on his head, eaten a Flobberworm and asked a random Slytherin to "use that serpent tongue of his on any part of my body". I am not doing another ridiculous dare."

"Bit rich to call those dares ridiculous, considering you have been inventing the worst dares of all of us," Alice grumbled, still bitter over the last dare she had to complete. Dorcas smirked.

"Yes, I'm quite brilliant when it comes to dares. Anyway, I don't want to eat some other gross creature, so I'll choose truth."

"Perfect," Lily said, smiling evilly. "Why won't you hear Sirius out and actually take the time to consider that he might really, truly fancy you?"

Dorcas glared stonily at Lily. "Dare."

"Oh come on Dorcas it's not even a hard ques – "

"Dare."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Fine. I dare you to kiss Sirius."

"Lily! That's ridiculous!" Dorcas said angrily.

"Why? You won't answer my truth so I get to give you any dare I want. That's how it works, Dorcas."

Dorcas let out an annoyed sigh. "If you make me do this I think we both know that on your next turn I will make you kiss James."

"Fine. We'll deal with that when it's my turn. Now, you either tell us why you are refuse to hear Sirius out and why you won't talk to him or you go kiss him. And, should you choose dare, you can't tell him it's a dare."

Dorcas got to her feet. "Just to clarify, I hate Sirius and this is only being done because I would rather force my gag reflex down long enough to kiss him than I would want to speak about him for any length of time."

"Excellent," Lily said briskly. "Also, thirty second kiss. There's your dare, go forth and complete it."

Dorcas sighed. "I hate you."

"I know," Lily replied.

Dorcas left her dormitory and marched up the boys' staircase to the Marauders' dormitory. She could hear Lily and Alice following her, but ignored them. It was past one o'clock in the morning, and Dorcas was quite sure the boys would be asleep. Pushing open the door she saw her suspicions confirmed – every bed had the hangings closed around it and the boys' deep breathing could be heard.

"You have to wake him up before you do it," Lily whispered.

"You're just making up stipulations now! My only dare was to kiss him!" Dorcas retorted in a hiss.

"He has to be conscious, Dorcas, that's just obvious."

Dorcas groaned and, after flipping Lily off, crept to the bed she knew was Sirius'.

Pulling back the hangings, Dorcas knelt down so she was face-to-face with a sleeping Sirius. Her heart was beating erratically and her stomach was doing somersaults as she looked at his face, peaceful and untroubled in sleep.

Dorcas stretched out a trembling hand and brushed Sirius' black hair out of his face. He shifted slightly and she leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "Sirius?"

Sirius opened his eyes blearily, yawning. "Wassamater?"

Dorcas put a finger to his lips. "Don't be loud, okay? James, Remus and Peter are sleeping."

Sirius looked at her, blinking sleep out of his eyes. "What are you - ?"

Dorcas shook her head causing him to stop mid-sentence.

"Nothing," she whispered, leaning forwards.

For a moment, Sirius looked completely bewildered. Then he seemed to register that she was leaning in to him and his eyes widened. Lifting his head slightly off the pillow, Sirius leaned towards Dorcas until their lips hesitantly met.

The second their lips met, Dorcas felt her eyes close and her heart crash against her rib cage. She tangled her hands in his hair and pulled him closer, kissing him fiercely. Forgetting momentarily that she was only doing this because of a dare, Dorcas traced Sirius' lips with her tongue until he opened his mouth. Their tongues danced along one another and Sirius grabbed Dorcas by the waist, pulling her up from the ground and on top of him. Dorcas bent her head and kissed along his jaw until he pulled her face back for another kiss.

As quickly as it happened, Dorcas suddenly remembered her surroundings. She gave Sirius one final kiss on the lips then stood up quickly. Sirius looked at her, feeling even more confused than he had a moment ago. She shook her head at him, pulled the hangings around his bed shut and dashed out of the room.

Lily and Alice were staring at Dorcas in surprise. She motioned for them to follow and the three of them rushed down the stairs and through the common room. As they began climbing up their own staircase they could hear Sirius shouting, "Dorcas, hey, Dorcas wait!"

Upon reaching their dormitory, the girls closed the door and sank onto a bed, staring at one another.

"Dorcas, I –" Lily began, but Dorcas silenced her with a look.

"I did my dare, my turn," Dorcas said.

"Dorcas, if you want to –" Alice began but Dorcas cut her off.

"Lily, truth or dare?"

Lily and Alice exchanged a look. "Dorcas, you have to – "

"I don't have to do anything," Dorcas said, not looking at her friends. "I did the dare, it is now my turn to ask someone. I'm asking Lily – truth or dare? And you know exactly what the dare will be. Keep in mind you already used your option to switch your choice."

Lily looked at Alice helplessly, who just shrugged. "Alright, well I suppose truth then…."

"Perfect," Dorcas said, smiling slightly. "And remember, no backing out. Now, my dear Lily Evans, it is time for payback."

Lily looked curiously at Alice, who also seemed confused.

"Do you, or do you not, fancy James Potter?"

**A.N : Ah , cliffhanger! It takes so long to update sometimes, and I sincerely apologize for the long time between updates. I just finished up frosh week so I had no time to finish this. Hope you like it, the next chapter is hopefully a good one! We get to hear Lily's answer and find out why Dorcas is so against believing Sirius (no, she's not just stubborn, although that's a big part of it). And, I haven't decided whether it's the next chapter or the one after but within the next two… the BALL. Many exciting things will occur and the Marauders and Lily, Dorcas and Alice will deal with many surprises! Also, keep in mind Peter is still holed up in the girls' room in his Animagus form. What will he find out?! xxxxx**

**PS. Longest chapter ever! That sounds review worthy to me :)**


	17. truthful answers

**A.N: Hey guys! Sorry this took so long, someone could have mentioned to me that university is a bit harder than high school, ha ha. This chapter is far too short, which really annoys me, but I like to think it makes up for it in quality! Let me know what you think, sorry to leave you with another cliff-hanger but I've started the next chapter and it should be up fairly soon! Love you all my faithful readers xxxxx**

Lily stared between Dorcas and Alice, eyes wide. "What do you mean?" She asked slowly, playing for time. Dorcas rolled her eyes.

"I thought the question was rather straight forward. Do you, or do you not, fancy James Potter?" Dorcas said, repeating the question deliberately slowly.

Lily groaned. "Dorcas you're just trying to get back at me for that stupid dare! I'm sorry, alright? I was annoyed you wouldn't tell me what was going on with you and Sirius, but I didn't think you would be so against telling me that you'd rather snog the stupid prat! It's not my fault you refuse to tell me what's going on between the two of you."

"This isn't about me or Sirius!" Dorcas said back angrily. "It's about you not owning up to how you feel!"

Lily let out a hysterical laugh. "Speaking of not owning up to feelings, Dorcas, you can't own up to how you feel about Sirius, so why would you expect me to own up to feelings about James?"

"Leave Sirius out of it, Lily. I don't feel anything for Sirius and even if I did that's hardly the point!"

"Liar," Lily huffed, crossing her arms angrily. "I can't believe you're _still_ lying to me about Sirius. 'I don't feel anything for Sirius.' Ha. Try saying that after taking a gulp of veritaserum."

"Think what you want, although I'm inclined to believe some veritaserum would have you pouring your heart out about your _undying_ love for James Potter!"

"You're so off base, Dorcas!"

"You don't know what you're talking about either, Lily!"

"Alice what do you think?!" The two shouted simultaneously, turning towards their friend with fierce expressions.

Alice looked between her friends angry faces and sighed. "Do you want my honest opinion, or do you just want me to tell you what you want to hear?"

"Honest opinion," Lily said promptly, just as Dorcas said, "What we want to hear."

Alice and Lily shot Dorcas withering glares, causing the latter to throw her hands up in exasperation. "Fine, fine, honest opinion," Dorcas said, feeling a twinge of unease as to the sudden topic the three were facing.

"Alright, well, let's start with Lily, seeing as this was her Truth to begin with. Dorcas, you can't make any sort of comment, alright?" Alice shot her friend a sharp look and Dorcas nodded sullenly.

"Lily, answer the question," Alice said, almost tiredly. "Do you fancy James?"

Lily chanced a glance at Dorcas, who was looking less irritated and more curious. Sighing in defeat, Lily clasped her hands together and whispered, "I – I don't know."

"You have _got_ to be –" Dorcas began but Alice silenced her with another look.

"Okay well that's not the flat out 'hell no' you've been shouting for the past four years when asked that question. What's different now, Lils?" Alice asked gently.

Groaning, Lily put her head in her hands. "It's been different since the first day of seventh year," Lily muttered, speaking to the floor. "Obviously we have all noticed a serious change in the Marauders – particularly James. At the beginning of the year, he actually suggested we be friends." Lily snorted. "James Potter and Lily Evans; _friends_. I assume you both remember how ludicrous everyone found that idea to be."

"Vividly," mumbled Dorcas, causing Lily to laugh shakily.

"Well I, obviously, found it just as weird. Regardless, we were going to be working together as Head Boy and Girl for the entire year, so it really did seem to be the most logical thing for us to do.

"Anyways, we agreed to be friends. As time passed, we all actually formed a friendship with them, didn't we? And then there was the night in Hogsmeade, where we all hung out outside the school grounds with one another. That night I thought everything had changed for all of us, and that we would all be friends but, well…" Lily trailed off awkwardly and motioned toward Dorcas.

"Sirius and I suck," Dorcas said, nodding. "Yes, noted. Moving on, away from Sirius and I and focusing on you and James…?"

"Well I was worried about you, Dorcas. It took up most of my time at that point. I still patrolled with James, still carried out our duties alongside him and still progressed in an awkward sort of friendship that we had started. But the group seemed odd with you and Sirius acting so strange, and so the group friendship seemed to become more distant."

Dorcas ignored the squirming that had erupted in her stomach as she remembered Sirius' mysterious behaviour after their night in Hogsmeade. Shaking her head, Dorcas focused on Lily once more.

Lily opened her mouth to speak once more, but faltered. The evening after their Hogsmeade adventure had truly been the turning point for Lily; the point when she realized how much she loved hanging around the Marauders. However, she couldn't explain this to Alice and Dorcas, because what had happened that night was not her secret to tell. It was Remus'.

"Well, now, I don't want you two to get angry with me alright?" Lily asked tentatively.

Alice and Dorcas exchanged a confused glance. "Okay…"

Lily took a deep breath. "The night after our trip to Hogsmeade I, er, found out a secret the Marauders had been keeping. I can't tell you it, I'm sorry, but it's not my secret to tell. When I found out about it, I realized what decent boys they all are, especially James. My respect for them increased ten-fold, and I spent the entire evening with them. It was then that I really felt as though we were all good friends with the Marauders."

Alice and Dorcas looked quite curious, but Lily shook her head. "I wish I could tell you, I promise I do, but it's not my secret to tell."

"We understand, Lily," Dorcas said, sounding much more caring and much less annoyed with her best friend than she had been ten minutes earlier. Alice nodded earnestly and Lily shot them grateful looks.

"Alright Lily, we're with you so far. What about the night of the Quidditch party? You told me you had been avoiding James for practically two weeks because you almost kissed!" Dorcas said, recalling the conversation for the first time since that evening. Lily blushed.

"Well, yes, we did. He had been helping me with Transfiguration and we were just talking. I don't know what happened but suddenly the whole atmosphere changed. I knew we were about to kiss and, for some ridiculous reason, I wasn't completely horrified by the thought. We were so close and then, out of no where, he gathers his things and dashes off!

"So there I am, confused and annoyed, and he is making no attempt to say anything to me, so naturally I thought the best course of action would be to ignore him. Of course, Alice, you knew something was up; I saw the looks you were giving me, but Dorcas…" Lily trailed off again.

"I was rather busy with my own confusion and annoyance," Dorcas finished, feeling a pang of guilt that she had been so self-absorbed for the past few months.

Lily nodded. "Well I, eventually, decided to break my vow of silence, and assured myself we would become friends once more. And so we did. Everything went back to normal, until I woke up the morning after the Quidditch party to find myself in bed with him."

"What?!" Dorcas and Alice hollered, causing Lily to jump in surprise.

"I didn't tell you guys that?" Lily asked meekly. Dorcas and Alice shook their heads furiously.

"Well, the next day was pretty busy, what with Dorcas and Sirius fighting up a storm. It just slipped my mind," Lily said truthfully. "Besides, we didn't do anything, I had passed out and he carried me up to his room to sleep."

"Awww," Alice gushed, beaming. Lily grinned and even Dorcas smiled.

"And…that's basically it. Since then we have been hanging out and planning the Masquerade Ball and studying together and… and there's barely two hours out of my day that I don't spend with him," Lily finished hysterically. "I love having him around and the more he's near me, the more I want him near me. It's alarming and frightening and unbelievable, but when I think back on the last six years we spent at Hogwarts, I can't understand how I got through them without James. When he touches me I get butterflies and when he speaks to me my heart races. It's ridiculous and I feel like I'm being really silly, but I can't help it."

"Lily, it sounds like you really like James," Dorcas said gently. Lily shook her head.

"I just… I _can't_. He's _James Potter._"

"Exactly," Dorcas said with a wry smile. "He's James Potter, and whether he's teasing you or talking to you or laughing with you or just near you, you can't get enough of him. It's not this hard because of _who_ he is, Lily. It's this hard because, for the first time in nearly seven years, you're seeing him in a completely different light. Believe me, I know it's scary, but it doesn't change anything. You like him, I know you do. Trust me, I know the feeling."

Lily's eyes welled with tears as she shrugged feebly. "D-don't say anything to anyone, alright? It's just…_so_ confusing right now. I need to figure things out before I know how I really feel."

"We wouldn't breathe a word, Lils, I swear," Alice said as Dorcas nodded fervently. Lily let out a sob and the three girls hugged one another tightly.

As the girls separated, Dorcas said with a grin, "I didn't want to say I told you so but…"

Alice raised a hand, cutting across Dorcas effectively. "Next on the list of 'Things Dorcas and Lily would never figure out if it wasn't for their best friend Alice'. We've covered the James and Lily section of the list; let's move on to Dorcas and Sirius."

Dorcas scowled; she had momentarily forgotten that she was also expected to finally give her friends an explanation of what had been going on between her and Sirius.

"Oh, Dorcas, come on!" Lily said, wiping the last of her tears away and managing a watery grin. "I just admitted feelings for James Potter, there's no way your situation can be worse."

"Bet there is," Dorcas mumbled bitterly. Sighing in defeat she rubbed her temples and stared at her two friends.

"What is said does not leave this room, okay?"

"Okay," Alice and Lily chorused.

"Neither of you will interrupt until I'm done, okay?"

"Okay."

Taking a deep breath Dorcas said, "I had sex with Sirius Black."

"WHAT?!"

"I told you not to interrupt!" Dorcas protested, cringing at the looks of astonishment on her friends faces.

"When?" Alice whispered, eyes wide.

"The Quidditch party," Dorcas muttered, running a hand through her hair nervously.

"Oh my _god_," Lily said, looking thunderstruck. "I thought…something. Definitely not _that_, but….wow."

Dorcas shook her head miserably. "Chill out guys, it didn't mean anything. We were both drunk and it just sort of….happened," she finished lamely. Alice and Lily exchanged significant looks.

"Dorcas, it didn't 'just happen'," Alice said gently. "Lils and I have noticed something between you and Sirius ever since the first day back, when he partnered with you in Potions. Even if he said it didn't mean anything I'm sure –"

"He didn't," Dorcas interrupted, sighing.

Alice looked confused. "He didn't what?"

"He didn't say it was a mistake," Dorcas said, examining her fingernails intently and ignoring the looks her friends were shooting her.

"Dorcas, you didn't!" Lily shouted, glaring at her despairingly.

"Yes, I did," Dorcas said, rather haughtily. "It was a mistake and we both knew it. It happened out of nowhere. Sirius ran after me when I left the party and tried to apologize, although he did a lousy job of it. I asked him what I had done to make him ignore me since our trip to Hogsmeade and he wouldn't give me a straight answer. Just as I insulted him, he kissed me," she said disgustedly.

"Well, why didn't you stop him if you didn't want to?" Lily asked timidly. Dorcas rolled her eyes.

"Of course I wanted to. He's gorgeous and I was drunk. I certainly wasn't going to stop, but it didn't mean anything. The next night he tried to tell me it did. Sirius doesn't know himself, or me for that matter, as well as he thinks he does. I had to be the one to say it meant nothing. He was getting in over his head, saying things to me he wanted to believe, but we both knew weren't true."

"Like what?" Alice asked.

"Like saying it meant something to him. Like telling me he fancied me. Like telling me he wanted more from me than he had wanted from other girls."

The three were silent for a moment as Dorcas glowered down at her nails. "He was full of shit, and I would have been an idiot to believe him. So I did us both a favour, and I shut him down before he could do any more damage."

"Dorcas, what if those things he was saying were true?" Lily asked quietly. "I'm not one to defend Sirius, honestly, but I've seen the way he looks at you. He fancies you, Dorcas, are you really that blind?"

Dorcas laughed bitterly. "Funny, he said that to me too."

Alice and Lily said nothing.

"Lily, if what Sirius said is true, it's even worse for me and him," Dorcas finally said, looking miserable.

Alice shot her a quizzical glance. "What do you mean?" She asked slowly.

"Alright, let's just imagine I believe Sirius. I tell him I fancy him too and we start dating. Every single girl in this school, and some of the boys too, would be making it their personal goal to break up our relationship. They won't want to see Sirius Black dating someone. Even if we can get past that, how long will we last? A month? Two? Even that seems unlikely. I can't get involved with someone when I know there's no hope for more than a short fling, let alone a future."

"Dorcas, if that's the only reason then you're just being foolish. You could just try –" Alice said, but Dorcas cut across her again.

"That's not the only reason," Dorcas said sadly. Neither of her friends interrupted her, so Dorcas continued.

"I like Sirius, okay? You guys were right. I like him – _so_ much. Imagine if we dated? He would have more power over me than I like to think about. And what if he dumped me or, even worse, cheated on me? I don't know if I could handle it."

"Dorcas, life is all about chances," Lily said earnestly. "Just give it a go and take it really slow. You guys could be perfect for each other if you weren't so damn stubborn!"

"Even if I gave him a chance, we know he would hurt me. Sirius Black can't commit. What makes me think I'm any different than every other girl? He hasn't made any effort since I shut him down. He may have thought he fancied me, but we know what he's like. Within a month he will have moved on to someone else, and I, I'll be left alone to pick up the pieces."

Lily and Alice shook their heads fervently, but before they could speak Dorcas raised her hand.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore just now, okay? We can talk about it more later, I'm just so tired. Let's go to sleep, yeah?"

"Okay," Alice and Lily said, and the three girls curled up beside one another on Alice's bed, not saying a word though they all had a million thoughts running through their mind.

As Dorcas hovered between sleep and wakefulness she could have sworn she heard the scamper of little feet under the bed, but she was asleep before she could hear any more.

* * *

The next morning the three girls woke, tired and confused. They dressed quickly and silently, deciding to get an early breakfast and then get a start on their homework, which was piling high.

"Let's avoid those Marauders today, shall we?" Lily muttered, blushing. She was sure her friends would tease her, but the only response she received was a "definitely" from Dorcas, and an understanding nod from Alice.

As Alice opened the door and the girls headed down the stairs, a rat scurried out of their room, unbeknownst to them, and hurried down the stairs and to the boys' dormitories.

Upon reaching the seventh-year boys' dormitory, the rat scratched frantically, making squeaking noises. When he received no response, he glanced around dubiously, and, seeing no one, changed instantly back into Peter Pettigrew. Wrenching the door open, Peter rushed into his dormitory, slamming the door loudly behind him.

"JAMES! SIRIUS! GET UP!" He shouted, eyes wide with fear and excitement.

"Wormtail? Wassmater?" James groaned from his bed. Sirius made no movement from his own bed, other than to clamp his pillow over his ears.

"You won't _believe_ what Lily and Dorcas admitted about you two last night!" Peter squealed excitedly.

Sirius ripped the pillow off his head and bounded off his bed, stopping right in front of Peter. James raced towards the two and skidded to a halt next to Sirius.

"What did she say?!"


	18. attempting to get their women

James sat on his bed, his mouth open. "She likes me?" he whispered, looking utterly bemused. "She actually, really, likes…me?"

Peter nodded. "I know, Prongs, I was shocked too."

"Oh, we all knew Lily would come around eventually, James," Remus said matter-of-factly. His three friends turned to him with blank stares. "Well, I knew she would," Remus amended with a sigh.

"Play it again," James muttered, staring at his hands in complete shock. Beside him, Sirius was motionless, having not said a word since they had heard what the girls' had said about them.

Peter sighed and waved his wand, which began to vibrate slightly. Instantly, Lily's voice filled the room, seeming to come from Peter's wand.

"I love having him around and the more he's near me, the more I want him near me. It's alarming and frightening and unbelievable, but when I think back on the last six years we spent at Hogwarts, I can't understand how I got through them without James. When he touches me I get butterflies and when he speaks to me my heart races. It's ridiculous and I feel like I'm being really silly, but I can't help it."

James smiled slightly as he heard the hysteria in her voice. She needn't get so upset about it, he thought. They would be an amazing couple.

"Then Dorcas said…" James prompted, flapping a hand at Peter. Peter sighed again and waved his wand once more. Dorcas' voice rang through the dorm room, causing Sirius to jump slightly.

"Lily, it sounds like you really like James."

"I just…I _can't_. He's _James Potter._"

"Exactly. He's James Potter, and whether he's teasing you or talking to you or laughing with you or just near you, you can't get enough of him. It's not this hard because of _who_ he is, Lily. It's this hard because, for the first time in nearly seven years, you're seeing him in a completely different light. Believe me, I know it's scary, but it doesn't change anything. You like him, I know you do. Trust me, I know the feeling."

The wand stopped vibrating and the four boys stared at it, lost in their thoughts.

"What does Dorcas mean when she says 'I know the feeling'?" Sirius asked quietly from beside James. The other Marauders exchanged a glance.

"Er, Padfoot, didn't you hear the part where Dorcas admitted to liking you? Obviously, she is relating to Lily fancying me after so long because the same thing is happening to her, only concerning you," James explained.

"Play that part again," Sirius instructed, avoiding his friends' eyes.

Peter waved the wand once more and Dorcas' voice issued from it. For the next five minutes, the boys' listened to Dorcas' explanation of why she had told Sirius that sleeping with him had been a mistake, and how she thought everything he had said to her about fancying her wasn't true. They listened as she admitted to liking Sirius, and as she explained that she had no hope that Sirius could change his ways to be with her.

"He may have thought he fancied me, but we know what he's like. Within a month he will have moved on to someone else, and I, I'll be left alone to pick up the pieces." Dorcas voice trailed off and the wand remained motionless once more.

Peter, Remus and James said nothing as they watched Sirius hesitantly, wondering what he was thinking. Sirius was staring at the ground silently, pretending to be unaware of the glances his friends were shooting him.

"I wouldn't do that," Sirius whispered finally, looking up at his friends and glaring. "I wouldn't tell her that stuff if I hadn't meant it."

"We know, Sirius," James said quickly. "But you can see where she would get that idea, yeah? Only, you've been like that with girls in the past…we know she's different, you just have to make her see that."

Sirius sighed and put his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking. The other three exchanged alarmed glances. Sirius Black, crying over a girl?

"Sirius, it'll be okay…" Remus said, putting a comforting hand on Sirius' shoulder. Suddenly, Remus' eyebrows furrowed and he pulled his hand away. "Oh, for the love of Merlin…"

"Remus, be more sensitive, Sirius is obviously really –" James began, looking sternly at Remus.

"Happy," Remus finished, pointing at Sirius. James and Peter whirled around to see Sirius bursting with laughter, tears of mirth rolling down his face.

"Padfoot, what the -?!" James said, looking shocked.

"She fancies me, Prongs, she fancies me! I knew it! I knew she must feel _something_. No wonder she was so furious when I kept telling her I fancied her back, she's just scared! She really, really fancies me!" Sirius hollered, charging at his three best friends and hugging them tightly.

"And Lily likes you, Prongs! Lily bleeding Evans actually fancies _you_! Can you believe it? Never in a million years did I think those two would fall for the charms of _Marauders!_" Sirius ruffled James' hair, laughing his bark-like laugh once more.

James chuckled at his friend's antics. "Merlin's Beard, she does fancy me! After almost seven years, Lily Evans fancies me! Who would have ever guessed! I thought my chances were shot ages ago!"

"So did I!" Sirius exclaimed, clapping James on the back. James began laughing harder, pointing at Sirius.

"And Dorcas fancies you! How many brain cells has she lost?! She _hated_ you! Remember how angry she always was with you? She told you to stay out of her life, but really, she _fancied _you!" James yelled, tears of laughter now rolling down his face.

"She slept with me and told me it meant nothing, when really, she _liked_ me! And Lily made you promise to never ask her out again when now that's exactly what she wants!" Sirius and James roared with laughter, clutching one another to prevent themselves from falling to the ground.

Beside them, Remus and Peter looked dumbfounded. "They've lost it," Peter said in awe. Remus just nodded, his mouth open in shock.

After a few moments, Sirius and James' laughter subsided. "Birds are so weird," Sirius noted, wiping the last of the tears away from his eyes.

"Tell me about it," James agreed, sitting on the bed and chuckling quietly. "So…what do we do now?"

"We go and get our women," Sirius said matter-of-factly, pouncing at the door. "C'mon, James!"

"You probably shouldn't mention you had Peter spy on them," Remus said wearily. "They may take back all those things they said if they knew you boys had heard them."

"Subtlety is my middle name, Moony my boy," Sirius said, winking.

"No it's not," Peter replied.

Rolling his eyes, Sirius wrenched the door open. "Maybe not, but now that I know Dorcas wants me too, I have a renewed sense of confidence. We won't tell them we heard what they said, Moony, we're not bloody daft. Ready, Prongs?"

"Ready, Padfoot," James responded. "Where are our loving dames?"

"Well, about half an hour ago they went to breakfast…" Peter began, but trailed off as James and Sirius shot out the doorway and down the stairs.

"So they're now probably back in their rooms," Peter finished, shaking his head.

"It's going to be quite the day, Wormtail," Remus said, rubbing his temples and exiting the dormitory, Peter following behind.

* * *

James and Sirius pounded along the corridors, making their way to the Great Hall and hoping desperately that the girls' would still be there. As they reached the Entrance Hall, the boys raced through the double doors into the Great Hall and sprinted to the Gryffindor table.

"Lily Evans, Dorcas Meadowes, either of you here?" Sirius shouted frantically, his eyes searching the long table.

Lily, Alice and Dorcas looked up, startled. Sirius and James spotted them and jogged along the table until they flopped into the seats across from the three girls.

"What do you guys want?" Lily asked, looking surprised at the boys' dramatic entrance.

"Just wondering where you guys were, that's all," James responded, shooting her his sweetest smile. Lily seemed stunned for a moment, until she shook herself slightly and bent her face over her plate.

"Hi," Sirius said from beside James, beaming at Dorcas.

"Hi…" Dorcas replied, looking at her two best friends in confusion. Her friends shrugged, and stared at the boys, half in amusement and half in complete confusion.

"I had an excellent dream last night," Sirius said, breaking the silence. "The most gorgeous witch I had ever seen waltzed into my bedroom, woke me up only to give me the best kiss of my life, and then danced away before I had time to catch up with her. Strange, hmm?" Sirius smiled at Dorcas, who had turned rather red.

"Maybe you should stop drinking before bed, Sirius. Then you wouldn't have those dreams," she sniffed, ignoring his gaze.

"If drinking before bed causes me to have the best dreams of my life, not to mention the best _kiss_ of my life, then I'll drink every night," Sirius responded in a low voice, staring at the blonde head that was bent down in an attempt to avoid his eye.

"The best kiss of your life was in a dream? Blimey, Padfoot, get out more," Peter retorted, sniggering. Sirius sent him a withering glare.

"Shut up, Wormtail, that wasn't the point."

"Then what was the point, trying to get Dorcas to look at you? Because she clear –"

"Again, Wormtail, just shut up."

"I'm done breakfast, I think I'll go back to the common room," Dorcas said loudly as Peter opened his mouth to reply to Sirius. Dorcas sprang to her feet and hastily walked out of the hall, hoping no one would follow her.

Luck, however, was not on her side today.

"Dorcas, wait up," Sirius called as he sped after her. Dorcas quickened her pace.

"Not interested," she said over her shoulder.

"You don't even know what I'm going to say!"

"Still not interested."

Sirius sped up until he was walking alongside her.

"Why did you kiss me?" He asked, peeking sideways at her.

"Lily dared me to."

"Why would she do that?" Sirius asked, genuinely curious. He was under the impression neither Alice nor Lily knew that he and Dorcas had slept together.

"I don't know, Sirius, you'll have to ask her," Dorcas replied wearily.

"I'm asking you."

"Well I don't have the answer, so if you could leave me alone now…" Dorcas said impatiently.

"Why won't you talk to me?" Sirius asked.

Dorcas ignored him.

"Stop walking," Sirius demanded suddenly, putting an arm out in front of her chest. Dorcas stopped and turned to face him, arms crossed.

"Sirius Black, stop pestering me. Tell me what you want, or just leave me al -!"

Dorcas was effectively cut off by Sirius pulling her body against his and kissing her deeply. He fisted a hand in her long hair and placed his other hand very gently on her waist. Dorcas melted into the kiss, her brain shutting down completely and forgetting to remind her that she should _definitely_ not be kissing Sirius Black. Again.

After a few long moments, Sirius pulled away and pressed his lips sweetly to her forehead. Dorcas remained motionless, completely dazed.

"I want you, you foolish witch," Sirius murmured. "What will it take for you to believe that?"

Dorcas could not think of a reply. Before she could form a coherent sentence, Sirius had brushed her hair away from her face gently, a small smile gracing his lips, and then loped off, back to the Great Hall.

* * *

Later that day Lily, Dorcas and Alice were seated in the common room around the fire. Dorcas had not mentioned her encounter with Sirius to her friends, as she knew they would see this as another reason for why she should give Sirius a chance. She was confused and hurt, and wanted nothing more than to go to her room and sleep for as long as she possibly could. Just as Dorcas decided this would be the perfect idea, a shadow fell across her, causing her to look up.

James stood in front of the girls, looking nervous yet determined. "Lily," he said quietly, "may I speak with you for a moment?"

"Of course, James," Lily murmured, glancing up at him and attempting to hold his gaze without blushing. "What is it?"

James seemed rather taken aback at having to speak to Lily in front of her two best friends. He cleared his throat, however, and said confidently, "I think we should go to the Masquerade Ball together."

The book Lily was holding limply in her hand fell between her fingers and hit the rug with a soft thud. "W-what?" She asked quietly.

"Not as dates, of course, but rather, as Heads of the school. I think it would show school unity, if the Heads were to attend together and – and maybe start off the first dance."

Lily didn't reply. She was staring at James in complete shock, trying hard to ignore the thousands of butterflies that had just erupted in her stomach.

"I mean, if you don't want to that's alright, I just thought it was a good idea…" James trailed off uncomfortably, looking as though he was regretting starting this conversation in the first place.

"No, it is a good idea," Lily agreed faintly, shaking her head slightly to clear it. "Yes, it really does make sense. Just to be clear, we'd be attending as Heads of the school, not as dates, right?"

"Right," James said, and Lily avoided the disappointment she was feeling as he agreed. "As Heads of the school, I think it would be really great for us to go together."

"Yes," Lily agreed again. "Really great."

"Excellent," James said, smiling. "Well, I'm just going to get back to the guys, but I'll see you later for rounds, yeah?"

Lily nodded wordlessly and James ambled back to his friends, looking thoroughly relieved.

"Oh my god," Alice said in a hushed voice.

"What?" Lily asked, picking her book up and hiding her blush behind it.

"You have a date with James Potter! And you agreed!" Alice shrieked in a half-whisper, looking ecstatic. Dorcas grinned.

"I thought after our conversation last night it would only be a matter of time, but this is definitely sooner than I expected!" Dorcas chuckled.

"Shut up you two. It's not a date! Were going together because we are the Head Boy and Head Girl. That's the only reason he asked me," Lily said, wincing as she heard the disappointment in her voice.

"Merlin," Dorcas whispered, "you wanted him to ask you as his date, didn't you?"

Lily shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. Although, I probably would have said no if he had asked me as his date anyway."

"Why, Lily?! You like him and he _really_ likes you, so what's your excuse for not going out with him _now_?" Dorcas asked exasperatedly.

"Because, Dorcas, I'm confused, alright?! You, of all people, should understand how I'm feeling!" Lily said angrily, causing several people to look around at the three girls in alarm.

Dorcas looked surprised at Lily's outburst, but before she could apologize, or say anything more, Lily had jumped to her feet and climbed the staircase leading to the girls' dormitory.

"People need to stop walking away from me before I can even get a goddamned word in," Dorcas grumbled, crossing her arms and glaring in to the fire.

"Who else has walked away from you?" Alice asked, feeling she already knew the answer and hoping Dorcas would actually confide in her this time.

"Sirius," Dorcas admitted quietly. "He followed me out of the Great Hall and kissed me. Before I could say anything, though, he left."

"Well, you might get a chance to speak with him sooner than you think," Alice responded, smirking.

"What makes you say that?" Dorcas asked tiredly, not in the mood for Alice's jokes.

"Because he's walking over here right now." Alice raised her eyebrows, staring at a spot over Dorcas' head. Dorcas leaned her head back to look up and came face to face with a beaming Sirius.

"'Lo, Dorcas," he greeted cheerfully, clutching a Chocolate Frog in his hand and extending it towards her. "Fancy some chocolate?"

Dorcas eyed the Frog suspiciously. "What have you done to it?"

"Nothing, my love. Promise. Just wanted to offer a delicious snack to a delicious witch," Sirius winked.

"Ugh, that was a sickening line," Dorcas groaned, but she took the Frog from him anyway and unwrapped it.

"Oh my, I don't think I've ever seen that Chocolate Frog card before," Sirius noted casually, pointing at the card still in the wrapper. Dorcas suspicion increased, but she picked up the card and examined it carefully.

"Well, who's on the card, then?" Alice asked, playing along. Sirius grinned at her.

Dorcas didn't reply, but stared at the card, her face expressionless.

"Dorcas and I," Sirius answered proudly, swiping the card from between Dorcas' fingers and showing it to Alice. The picture showed Sirius and Dorcas grinning and waving up from the card, each with an arm wrapped around the others' waist.

"'Dorcas Meadowes and Sirius Black'," Sirius read loudly as the entire common room watched him in hushed silence. "'The best-looking witch and wizard of the century, these two are famous for not only their dashing good-looks, but the love they share together. Dating since December. 4th, 1977, these two have proven to wizardkind everywhere that love truly is the most powerful form of magic.' Well, would you look at that? How sweet," Sirius beamed at the card.

Dorcas stared at Sirius in complete shock, words failing her.

"And look, my darling! 'Dating since December.4th, 1977'! Why, my goodness, what are the odds? That's today!" Sirius clapped a hand to his mouth in feigned surprise. Several onlookers laughed. "Well, we best get on with it then."

With a flick of his wand, a bouquet of wildflowers appeared in his hand. Sirius extended the flowers to Dorcas, who took them silently. Falling to one knee, Sirius grabbed one of Dorcas' hands and said, "Dorcas Meadowes, I fancy you. Yes, I, Sirius Black, fancy you. And I think you fancy me too. Would you do me the honour of making me your boyfriend? I'll do everything I can to make you happy, and we'll have amazing sex." Sirius grinned at the people watching closely and winked. "So, Dorcas, what do you say?"

Dorcas didn't say anything for a moment. She looked at Sirius silently as he remained kneeling, grinning.

"Why do you do this?" She asked quietly. Sirius' grin slid off his face.

"Do what?" He asked, rather nervously. The crowed gathered around the common room exchanged awkward looks.

"Why do you make these declarations when I know you can't follow them through?" Dorcas asked, glaring at him. Sirius dropped her hand and stood up.

"What makes you think I can't follow through? What have I _ever_ done to make you distrust me so much?"

Dorcas let out a shrill laugh. "I think the question is actually _who_ have you done to make me distrust you so much."

"That's not fair," Sirius said, covering his disappointment up with anger. "You can't judge me for things that haven't happened since last year, Dorcas! And if I do recall correctly you have had your fair share of Hogwarts boys, so forgive me for feeling that you're being a bit unfair."

"My fair share is nothing compared to yours!" Dorcas shouted. "You parade around, bragging about all the girls you have shagged as if they don't mean anything to you! That's all you wanted from me and guess what – YOU GOT IT!" Dorcas was screaming now, and didn't even notice the shocked looks from everyone around her. "So what are you still doing with me?!"

"I fancy you, Dorcas you bloody idiot!" Sirius yelled, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "How can you not see that? Do you think I would try this hard if I didn't really, _really_ want to be with you? Don't you think I would have run off and found someone else if I didn't want anything more to do with you? "

Dorcas scoffed. "I don't know what you would do," she replied coldly.

"Well then let me tell you," Sirius growled. "If I didn't fancy you, I wouldn't be kissing you in the hallways and asking you to be my _girlfriend_ in front of the entire common room. I don't know what you're so scared of, Dorcas, but you have to get over that. I don't expect us to just be a short fling Dorcas! I'm not going to 'move on to someone else' in a month and leave you to pick up the pieces! There is no one else! You don't think I can commit to you, or you don't want me to? Which one is it Dorcas?!"

Sirius ended his rant, breathing heavily and glaring at her. Dorcas, however, was looking shell-shocked.

"What made you say that?" Dorcas asked, very quietly. Sirius stared at her.

"What are you talking about?"

"You said 'I'm not going to move on to someone else in a month and leave you to pick up the pieces.' Why did you say that?"

Sirius paused. He had forgotten that she had never expressed this fear with _him_, but that he had heard her saying this to Lily and Alice.

"I –" Sirius began, looking awkward.

"Oh my god," Dorcas said, staring at him. "'I don't expect us to just be a short fling!' You were _spying_ on us last night, weren't you? You heard everything I said, didn't you? Answer me, Sirius!"

"No…not spying…just overheard some things…" Sirius rambled, his eyes pleading with her.

"I can't believe you!" Dorcas shouted. "What did you hear?!"

Sirius chanced a glance at Peter, Remus and James, all of whom were looking horrified.

"All of it," Sirius replied, feeling there was no point in lying to her. Dorcas' eyes filled with tears of rage as she glared at him.

"No," Dorcas said, very softly.

"N-no what?" Sirius asked nervously.

"No, I will not date you. No, I will not be your girlfriend and _no, _I don't ever want to see you again! I can't _believe_ you would do that!"

"I only did it because I fancy –" Sirius shouted but Dorcas cut him off.

"Stop saying that! Just stop it Sirius," she shouted, stamping her foot. "Please, for the love of Merlin _please,_ just leave me alone."

A tear slipped down Dorcas' cheek and Sirius thought he had never felt so horrible in his entire life. He didn't say anything as Dorcas sent him one last watery glare and stormed up the stairs to her dormitory.

Sirius stared after her, willing himself to not explode with rage. Turning to face the stunned crowd, Sirius forced himself to grin. "First person to convince that _stubborn_ witch to date me gets to be a Marauder!"

The crowd laughed and many of them muttered about 'trying to help Sirius' and 'Dorcas really was being too stubborn for her own good'. As the crowd dispersed, Alice sidled up to Sirius, looking stern.

"You boys were listening to us?" She asked the Marauders. They glanced at her uneasily.

"We didn't mean to. We were trying to play a prank on you girls but when we heard Lily and Dorcas talking about James and Sirius we couldn't help ourselves," Remus explained, smoothly avoiding the awkward questions that would arise if he had explained Peter had been in their room the whole time.

"Wait!" Alice gasped, pointing at James. "You all heard Lily, too?"

The boys glared at Remus who smacked himself on the head. "My bad, guys," he muttered.

"Yeah, we heard her," James said. "But I'm not using it to try and convince her to date me or anything," he added hastily.

"Hmmm," Alice said, glaring at him reprovingly. "Well, maybe you should."

"E-excuse me?" James spluttered, looking shocked.

"You heard me," Alice replied, smirking. "Now, I won't be telling the girls that you all heard Lily's confession too, and I'll be telling Dorcas it was only Sirius who heard her talking about him, alright? Let's try to keep our big mouths shut this time," here Alice glared at Sirius who sighed and nodded in defeat, "and I'll do my best to fix this."

"What do you mean? Fix things with Dorcas?" Sirius asked quickly.

"Well you've made a right mess of it, Sirius, I can't lie," Alice sighed. "I think you should back off for a while, give her time to cool off. You know how crazy she can get." The boys nodded fervently and Alice laughed.

"So…what should we do, then?" James asked hesitantly.

Alice thought for a moment, and then grinned at the boys. "Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. Maybe you should use this ball to your advantage, if you know what I mean."

Throwing a wink at the boys, Alice climbed the staircase to her dormitory without another word.

"This ball is going to be make-or-break, Prongs," Sirius said, rubbing his temples. "Merlin, of course we fall for the most complicated witches we can find."

"Hey, that's all you, Padfoot," James protested. "Lily and I are already going together, I'm much better off than you. If you get through the night without Dorcas punching you in the face, I'll be impressed."

Sirius sighed. "So much for taking her to the ball with me. Blimey she drives me mad. I'll lose years off my life from all the times she makes me this bloody angry."

"Well, at least you can join Remus and I as the dateless Marauders for the evening," Peter piped up, grinning.

"Er…about that," Remus began uncomfortably. "I've, er, actually asked Mary McDonald to accompany me to the ball. You know, the one from the –"

"Quidditch party," James finished, smirking. "Oh, we know Remus, you big, bad, wolf."

Sirius groaned. "Even Remus has a date!" Remus glared at him, looking affronted, but Sirius ignored him. "What am I gonna do?"

"You're going to come with me, Padfoot," Peter said. "I might even save you a dance or more if you're –"

"Shut up, Wormtail."

**A.N: Look at that FAST UPDATE! Let's get ALOT of reviews andI'll try to make the next one just as fast! :) Dorcas and Sirius are destined to be stubborn! I'm sorry for that, I really wanted them to get together there, but Dorcas wouldn't let me do it! You know how she can be… ha. One more chapter to come and then….THE BALL. Make or break, as Sirius said. Should be a good time! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, my personal favorite line is "Oh, we know Remus, you big, bad, wolf". HA! I just love those boys, don't you? Review please! The more you review, the faster we find out what happens with James, Lily, Sirius and Dorcas. And Remus and Mary too! Love you all my readers, gimme a review if you love me too! xxxxx**


	19. memories and first impressions

It had been ten days and Dorcas was still refusing to speak to Sirius. Alice had filled Lily in on the situation and, though they both wished Dorcas would stop being so angry and finally be with Sirius, neither of them pushed it. They knew from experience how Dorcas could be and knew she would have to forgive Sirius on her own terms.

Alice didn't mention to Dorcas or Lily the brief conversation she had had with the Marauders after Dorcas had stormed off. She knew she would never tell them that James had also heard everything that had been admitted during that fateful girls night; Lily would attack James just as surely as Dorcas had attacked Sirius. Alice also was hoping the boys would take her advice and use the excitement of the ball as a way to convince their women they were truly meant to be together. Alice loved her friends very much, but they were extremely stubborn. She was hoping that, soon enough, everything between James and Lily, and Sirius and Dorcas, would be alright.

The three girls were seated in the common room, trying to complete a Defense Against the Dark Arts essay. Dorcas had taken to completing her homework in her dormitory, so as to avoid seeing Sirius, but the girls had convinced her to join them in the common room this time.

"Sirius won't be there, there's Quidditch practice tonight," Alice had explained, and Dorcas had finally agreed. The three now sat in the comfortable armchairs by the fire, not speaking often as they tried to finish their essays.

Dorcas was having quite a bit of trouble completing her essay. Every time the portrait hole opened she started and looked around hastily to make sure it wasn't Sirius. She wanted to finish her essay quickly so she could go to bed before he showed up, but she was getting so distracted that she had barely finished half of it.

The portrait hole swung open once more and as Dorcas whipped her head around as she had been for the past hour, she saw the last person she wanted to see – Sirius himself. Sirius noticed her looking and immediately raced over.

"Dorcas, I'm sorry okay? I don't know how many times I have to say it," Sirius said as he rushed towards her and skidded to a halt at her armchair.

Dorcas said nothing, but quickly rolled up her essay and shoved it and her quill into her bag.

"So, what, you're just going to ignore me?" Sirius asked, frustrated.

Dorcas grabbed her bag, swung it over her shoulder and attempted to stand up. Sirius towered over her chair, trying to block her from standing.

"Dorcas, just hear me out please!" He demanded, crossing his arms angrily. Dorcas made no response, but instead swung her legs over the arm of her chair and leapt off it, heading towards the girls' staircase.

"You're being ridiculous you know!" Sirius shouted at her retreating back, but the only response he got was her flipping him off without so much as a backward glance.

"That bloody woman," Sirius groaned, flopping into her vacated armchair and putting his face in his hands.

"Well, you shouldn't have been spying should you have?" Lily asked sternly, staring pointedly at Sirius.

"I didn't know what I was going to over hear!" Sirius said loudly. "I was going to play a prank on you girls, and I already apologized a hundred times!"

"I know, it's okay. Sorry, I didn't mean to bring it up again," Lily said quickly, looking apologetic. "You know Dorcas, she'll come around on her own time."

"I'm not so sure this time," Sirius admitted, staring into the fire. "She won't even _talk_ to me. Before, when she was angry, she would yell at me until her voice was hoarse. But this time… she will barely look at me let alone say anything. I think I really screwed it up."

Lily and Alice exchanged helpless looks. "We'll try to make her see that she's being unreasonable, Sirius," Lily said, patting him reassuringly on the arm.

"Of course we will," Alice agreed, "And you ought to just stop apologizing to her, because it's obviously not working. I think you'd be best off if you just be nice and don't try to ambush her every time you see her, yeah?"

Sirius sighed and nodded. "Thanks guys, I owe you big time."

"Yes, you do," Lily said, smiling. "How about you pay us back by not pulling any more pranks this year?"

"Hmm, I was thinking more along the lines of no longer stealing your essays out of your bag when you're distracted and copying them," Sirius replied.

"What?! You do that?!" Lily shrieked, looking shocked.

"Um, no?" Sirius said, his lips twitching.

"SIRIUS!" Lily shouted, raising a book as though she were going to hit him with it.

"I've just said I'll stop doing it, haven't I?!" Sirius said, shielding his face with his hands and standing up. "Merlin, _women_."

Sirius darted through the common room and up the boys' staircase before Lily could hit him with the book, Alice laughing loudly behind him.

Lily sat back down, glaring at the staircase. "He drives me mad sometimes," she groaned.

"It's part of his charm, I suppose," Alice said, grinning. Lily threw her a disparaging glance.

"Charm or idiocy," she retorted. "I do feel bad for him about this whole Dorcas situation though. Do you really think she'll ever forgive him?"

Alice hesitated. "I'm not sure," she said thoughtfully. "I think she might, but it's going to take some sincere convincing on his part. We'll just have to wait and see, I suppose."

Lily nodded and the two continued their essays, not discussing the matter any further.

* * *

"I _don't_ want to go."

"Dorcas, stop being so difficult! We always have fun at Hogsmeade, and we have to pick out our dress robes for the Ball!" Lily said, throwing a cloak at Dorcas. "Now, put that on and let's get going!"

It was two days later and the final Hogsmeade trip before Christmas Break. Lily and Alice stood in front of Dorcas, glaring at her.

"You'll be coming with us either way, so either put that cloak on and come with us or we'll knock you out and drag you out of the castle," Alice said threateningly, drawing her wand and pointing it at Dorcas.

Dorcas groaned. "Fine, I'll come. Happy?"

"Yes," Lily and Alice replied, beaming. Dorcas groaned again and, after throwing on her cloak, the three left their dormitory and headed to the Entrance Hall.

"It's going to be bloody freezing out," Dorcas said, sighing.

"Dorcas, you are not allowed to be grumpy today," Lily scolded. "We're going to have a fun day, just us girls, and we're going to be happy, alright?"

Dorcas didn't reply but silently followed her friends past the caretaker and through the double doors leading out of the castle.

* * *

"I _don't _want to go."

"Blimey, Padfoot, what's up with you? Okay, so the girl you fancy hates your guts, and may never talk to you again, and rejected you in front of the entire common room and….where was I going with this?"

"Just, stop speaking, James. Sirius, you're coming with us to Hogsmeade, no arguments. Let's get going," Remus said sternly, holding the door open for the other boys.

Sirius sighed. "Dorcas hates me. I'm staying here."

"Dorcas _doesn't _hate you, she is just stubborn. How many times must I say it, Padfoot? Now, get up and out that door this instant or I'm hexing your balls off," Remus said impatiently.

Sirius sighed again. "It's not like I need them anyway. Dorcas won't ever have sex with me again – "

"Sweet Merlin! We have heard Prongs whine about Lily for six and a half years, and I refuse to listen to you talk about Dorcas in the same way. Get up right now, Padfoot, I'm serious!" Remus said angrily.

"Actually, _I'm_ Sir-"

"NOW!"

"Alright, alright, I'm coming," Sirius said and, with another loud sigh, he stood up and followed his friends out of the dormitory.

* * *

"So, Lily, how is James?" Alice asked as the three girls made their way down the snowy lane towards Hogsmeade.

"He's great, actually," Lily replied, smiling. "We've finished all the arrangements for the ball, and all that's left is setting it up! If you had told me six months ago that James and I would not only be Head Boy and Girl, but that we would also be _friends_ I would have hexed you."

"Those boys have really changed, haven't they?" Alice said. "I must say, I'm impressed."

Dorcas snorted. "If this is a way of you guys trying to subtly convince me to forgive Sirius, it's not going to work."

Alice sighed. "Oh, Dorcas, why can't you? He's so upset, and you have to admit, that Chocolate Frog stunt was pretty adorable."

"I won't be forgiving him any time soon, Alice. I can't believe he _spied_ on me. He heard me say everything I was too embarrassed to say to him. It's going to take a long time to forgive_ that," _Dorcas said. "Please, just let me deal with it my own way, alright?"

"Okay," Alice agreed, "We won't bring it up anymore."

"Thanks," Dorcas said gratefully. "Now, where are we going?"

"Gladrags," Lily said promptly. "I can't _wait_ to get our dress robes!"

"I do love shopping," Dorcas said, smiling slightly.

"Wow, Dorcas remembers how to smile! It's a miracle!" Alice said, nudging Dorcas and grinning. Dorcas laughed and suddenly everything between the three girls seemed normal once more.

* * *

"So Marauders, where to first?" James asked as they stumbled down the snowy lane.

"Honeydukes," Sirius said immediately.

"Alright, and then we have to pick up some dress robes, I don't have any," Remus said.

"I've got about twelve pairs, just borrow one of mine," Sirius offered.

"Well, thanks, Sirius, but I don't know if they will fit me, we're slightly different sizes," Remus replied. Sirius stopped walking.

"Are you calling me fat?" Sirius asked.

"What? No, of course not, that's not what I – "

"Do you think I'm fat, Moony?"

"Sirius, you're taking this the wrong way, we just don't have the same body type –"

"So you're fit and I'm fat, is what you're saying, is it?"

"No, no – "

"Just come out and say it, then, Moony!"

"Fine, Sirius, you're fit and muscular and I'm skinny and gangly, is that better?" Remus shouted. Sirius smiled.

"Much. Thank you, Moony. Right, then. Honeydukes, then Gladrags."

"You are unbelievable," Remus said, shaking his head.

"So I've been told."

* * *

"Do you guys remember the first time we met the Marauders?" Alice asked wistfully, grinning.

Lily laughed. "I remember the first time I met James and Sirius, when I was on the train with Severus. Pigs."

Dorcas groaned. "Must they be all we talk about?"

"You must remember the first time you and I met those boys though, Dorcas, don't you?" Alice asked, grinning.

"Course I remember," Dorcas muttered. "Bunch of lunatics, weren't they? You and I were walking into the Great Hall on our _very first morning_ and James Potter comes running at me, screaming, 'I didn't do it!'. Next thing I know Sirius is chasing after him screaming, 'I'm going to kill you, James!' and before you or I can do anything they have run headlong into us. All four of us fell onto the Hufflepuff table, covering us and everyone in the vicinity with kippers, eggs, and porridge. That was the first time I screamed at Sirius – obviously it wasn't the last."

Lily and Alice roared with laughter throughout the story. "_Excellent_ first impression," Alice chuckled, "Even I was furious with the pair of them. Of course, Remus and Peter weren't much help either, just stood there clutching each other and laughing their arses off."

"Then do you remember in our first class they kept chucking bits of parchment at us?" Lily said, her expression torn between disapproval and amusement. "I could have murdered them, I was trying so hard to take down our first ever notes!"

"Remember Dorcas flipped them off? They were _shocked_," Alice said, laughing again. "Of course, Dorcas would be the only eleven year old girl to flip off some guys she barely knew."

"I doubt I was the first, those boys made it their mission in life to annoy everyone," Dorcas said, shaking her head and hiding a smile. "At least I wasn't the first one to _slap_ a Marauder."

"I nearly forgot about that!" Alice shrieked as Lily blushed. "Lily slapped Sirius straight across the face in third year, didn't she?"

"She certainly did," Dorcas confirmed, now openly grinning. "Shall we hear the story once more, Miss Evans?"

"You were both there!" Lily protested but Dorcas and Alice kept staring at her expectantly until she gave in. "Alright, fine. We were walking to Herbology and the Marauders were walking behind us, shouting obnoxiously, I might add. Sirius, being his usual arrogant self, began discussing how, even though James said he fancied me, Sirius would be the first one to sleep with me. I ignored this statement of course, but then he started going into intimate details about an _imaginary_ time he and I had spent in the broom cupboard across from the Great Hall. He barely got two sentences out before I whirled around and slapped him in the face. I've never seen any of them look that shocked in their life, although I think James was secretly pleased I had gotten so angry with Sirius about it."

Dorcas and Alice chuckled, reminiscing about that day in their third year. "We were all shocked, Lily. Who knew you had it in you! Mind you, this was before all your fights with James, so we all still thought you were meek and innocent," Dorcas said, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

"It was those bloody Marauders that corrupted me," Lily grumbled, causing the three girls to fall about laughing once more.

* * *

"Would you two have ever thought the first time you met Dorcas and Lily that you would end up fancying them?" Remus asked, grinning.

The boys had just been discussing some of their first pranks at Hogwarts, which led Remus to reminisce of the first time they had ever met Lily, Alice and Dorcas. He still found it strange how different their relationship with the girls was now compared to six years ago.

Sirius groaned. "I thought we weren't going to talk about the bloody women!"

"Oh Padfoot, lighten up! I've been waiting on Lily for about four years now, you still got nothing on my suffering," James replied, shoving Sirius playfully. "And to answer your question Remus – yes, I knew the second I met Lily Evans that I loved her."

Sirius, Remus and Peter all burst into laughter. James glared at them, looking affronted. "What? I did!" He retorted.

"Yeah, right, Prongs," Sirius said, clutching his stomach as he laughed. "Don't you remember our first meeting? We mocked her _and_ Snivellus. She _hated_ us!"

"That's not how I remember it," James sniffed, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Well, mate, that's how it happened. Sorry to break it to you," Sirius said, patting James on the shoulder. "As for me, the first time I met Dorcas was right after you threw a bag of beetles in my shower, on our very first day of classes."

James started laughing along with his friends at this. "Good Lord, when you chased me in to the Great Hall and we crashed right into them? The four of us collapsed on the Hufflepuff table, completely covered in food!"

"Yep," Sirius sighed wistfully. "First time she ever screamed at me – mind you, it wasn't the last."

"Then remember we kept throwing bits of parchment at them during class? Dorcas flipped us off! I was terrified of her, I definitely thought she was going to beat up one of us by the end of the year," Peter said, chortling.

"Clearly it wasn't her we needed to worry about, though," Remus said, grinning. The other boys glanced at him questioningly. "Remember when Lily slapped Sirius?"

The other boys' mouths dropped in surprise. "Blimey, I completely forgot about that!" Sirius exclaimed. "I thought for sure she would have slapped James first, judging by how often she yelled at him, but it was me she slapped! Caught me by surprise, too, I can tell you. I was just having some innocent fun!"

"You were shouting that you had both gotten naked in a broom cupboard," James said, glaring at Sirius.

Sirius laughed. "Ah, yes, I remember it well. I could tell you were thrilled she hit me, too, weren't you? So glad Lily was repulsed at the thought of being intimate with me in any way. Rotten friend, you are."

"I'm the rotten friend?" James scoffed. "You only said that stuff because I had just told you a few days ago that I fancied her!"

"Ah, you're right, Prongs. Sorry," Sirius said, beaming. James rolled his eyes.

"Four years later, I've managed to forgive you," James said dryly.

"Well, sometimes I still think Dorcas holds that first meeting over my head. It's definitely where our relationship went downhill."

"It's where your relationship started," Peter pointed out.

"Yes, exactly. From day one I have been pissing her off. It's in my nature, it can't be controlled!" Sirius replied, grinning.

"Hmm, try explaining that to her, maybe she'll accept it," Remus said in mock-seriousness.

"Nah, she'd hex me," Sirius said, heaving a dramatic sigh. "Not much I can do about it anyway, is there?"

The other boys shrugged, not sure what to say. In an attempt to change the topic, Remus said, "Alright, first impression of each of the girls, and how it changed up to now. Starting with Alice."

"I thought she was quiet and shy when I first met her," James said. "Dead wrong. She's loud and has a temper, just not as loud as Dorcas and doesn't have as much of a temper as Lily. She's definitely the most reasonable one though."

Sirius nodded. "First impression; fire cracker in bed."

Remus glared at him. "You did _not_ think that at age eleven!"

"Alright, not at eleven. Maybe at fourteen. All I know is, I thought it! It's always the quiet ones!"

"Are you saying Dorcas isn't, then?" James asked, raising his eyebrows.

Sirius lifted his chin up and said haughtily, "A gentlemen never tells."

"Wow, she must have sucked if Sirius isn't telling," Peter stage-whispered, grinning. Sirius glared at him.

"Shut up, Wormtail. She was fucking fantastic. It's not _only_ the quiet ones, it's just a known fact that those quiet girls can be crazy in bed. Anyway, I don't think about that _now._ Although, I'm mildly curious again. I'll have to ask Frank."

"He will kill you, but I would like to see his reaction, so please ask him when I'm around," James said, laughing.

* * *

"Your first impression of James Potter was _not_ that you wanted to sleep with him Dorcas! You were eleven and he had just collided with you on top of a table covered with food!" Lily shouted, red patches appearing on her cheeks.

"Alright, no, that wasn't my first impression of him. I just wanted to see how bloody pissed that made you," Dorcas smirked. Lily rolled her eyes.

"_Not_ funny, Dorcas. I already told you both I _might_ fancy James, so those games are pointless now," Lily huffed.

"You're right, sorry. Old habits die hard," Dorcas said, grinning. "Seriously, my first impression of James was that he was an obnoxious idiot. I did think he was cute though. I mean, who didn't?"

"Oh yeah, he's quite good-looking," Alice said, nodding fervently. Lily said nothing.

"Lily? What do you think?" Dorcas asked innocently, picking at a thread on her mittens casually. Lily sighed.

"Yes, he is good-looking, alright? He always has been, of course, the fool. It's why he is so arrogant, I imagine. Mind you, Sirius is pretty damn good-looking himself, isn't he, Dorcas?" Lily retorted.

"Yeah, I've got to admit Sirius is gorgeous," Dorcas said grudgingly, "You guys haven't even seen the best part though; he's got the _biggest –"_

_"_DORCAS!" Lily shouted, clapping her hands over her ears.

" – feet?" Dorcas finished, grinning.

"You are so disgusting sometimes, Dorcas. You and Sirius would be perfect on that front," Lily grumbled.

"One more word about Sirius and I and I'm heading back to the castle," Dorcas said threateningly. "Anyway, I was only joking. Yes, Sirius is good-looking, James is good-looking, Remus is good-looking, the only one, really, who isn't is –"

"Peter," Alice and Lily said simultaneously. The three girls laughed and muttered together, "Shame."

* * *

"Feisty," Sirius grinned, pretending to swipe a claw through the air.

"Scary," Peter said, nodding.

"Smart and enthusiastic," Remus said, smiling serenely.

"Why don't you guys just date her, if you're so obsessed with her, then?" James grumbled, crossing his arms.

Sirius let out his loud, bark-like laugh. "If only, mate. Lily and I would have never worked. Tried to, once, but in the end she decided it wasn't fair to you."

"WHAT?!" James spluttered, going red instantly.

"Kidding," Sirius laughed, clapping James on the back. "Alas, Lily Evans and Sirius Black were never meant to be. She's a great catch though, you two will be fantastic together."

"What makes you so sure now that we will be together?" James asked suspiciously.

"I've got a feeling, mate, a big feeling. You and Lily will get married, and have a bunch of babies. One Prongs Jr, and a Padfoot Jr too."

"Sirius, your own child would technically be Padfoot Jr, not James' child," Remus said, shaking his head. Sirius shrugged.

"Who's to say I'll ever have children?" Sirius asked indignantly. "As if I would want a bratty ball of tears and diapers. No, thanks, Prongs can have them, and name one of them after me."

"What if Dorcas wants children?" Peter asked innocently. Sirius shrugged again.

"I expect she'll have them, then, won't she?" He asked coldly.

"Well, if you marry Dorcas, and she wants babies – "

"I won't be marrying Dorcas, Wormtail, and I don't want to talk about it," Sirius growled, causing Peter to stop speaking quite abruptly.

"James, you never said your first impression of Lily," Remus reminded, grinning.

"Hmm. Well, when she first walked in that compartment I thought she was beautiful. Honestly, I did, Sirius. But of course she was with Snivelly, and was acting all high and mighty, mind you, so I thought she was a bit of a snob. Obviously, I was dead wrong. I spent all of first year teasing her mercilessly and all of second year wondering why I teased her so much. By third year I knew – I had the biggest crush on Lily Evans. It's been on-going to this very day," James finished, smiling at the thought.

"That's quite sweet in a 'gag me' type of way."

"Shut up, Sirius."

* * *

"Arrogant, cocky, rude, ignorant, ridiculous, annoying, cruel, ugly," Dorcas said savagely, ripping random robes from the rack and holding them up against herself.

"Dorcas, be serious! That was not your first impression of Sirius and you know it. My first impression of him was haughty, good-looking, arrogant, funny, and you know how much I couldn't stand him. Tell us what it really was!" Lily demanded, holding her dress robes and tapping her foot on the ground impatiently.

"Should I wear blue?" Dorcas asked, ignoring Lily.

"That could look really nice, how about this light blue one?" Alice said eagerly, tossing a set of robes at Dorcas. Alice caught Lily's eye and hung her head guiltily. "Answer Lily though, Dorcas, we've pissed her off now."

"I'm not angry, I just want to know what you really thought," Lily argued.

"Fine. Gorgeous, hilarious, cocky, stupid but smart if he wants to be, sensitive about some things but strong most of the time, stubborn, easygoing, quick temper but generally laid back. Now, I'm the only one who hasn't found dress robes, so can you guys help me, please?" Dorcas rattled off quickly, turning back to the rack.

Lily and Alice said nothing, but glanced at one another uncertainly.

"You got all of that from the first time we met Sirius?" Alice asked hesitantly.

"Well, not the first time, but by the end of the first week, yeah, that's how I saw him. I answered the bloody question, so there's no need to bring it up anymore," Dorcas said, nodding to herself. "And I'm not too sure about this blue to be honest…"

"Dorcas, if you just _talked_ to Sir –" Lily began. Dorcas whipped around.

"Enough," she said quietly. "Enough talk about Sirius, enough asking me to _talk_ to Sirius, enough reminiscing about Sirius, enough about _me_ and Sirius. Just, enough, alright? First impression of Remus: bookworm and sensitive. Anyone else?"

"Smart and the kindest boy I'd ever met," Lily answered after a moment. Dorcas threw her a grateful look and turned back to the rack of dress robes.

"Sexy," Alice said, licking her lips and grinning. Lily and Dorcas exchanged a look and began laughing once more, the tension evaporating quickly.

* * *

"Mad," James said, shaking his head. The other boys laughed at this.

"Your first impression of Dorcas was that she was mad?" Remus asked, chuckling.

"Yeah! She hollered at Sirius and I for five minutes after we all fell on that table. McGonagall had to hold her back to physically _restrain_ her! I thought she was bloody crazy," James replied, grinning himself. "In fact, I still think she's a bit mad; makes her loads more fun though."

"Pretty, was my first impression," Peter offered, blushing.

"With kippers in her hair?" James asked, looking stunned. "That was the _last_ thing I thought. Although, to be fair, once we saw her all cleaned up I was pretty surprised. Gorgeous, of course. They all are, really."

Remus raised his eyebrows at James, who immediately backtracked. "Obviously I think Lily is the best looking! I'm only saying!"

Remus laughed. "Just checking the crush was still in tact," he said, putting his hands up in defence. "My first impression of Dorcas was that she was strong. She was confident, outspoken, and _definitely_ not afraid of you two. I knew she would be giving you two problems throughout the years, although I never thought it would be romantic problems."

Sirius grinned. "'Course, I still remember exactly what I was thinking as I charged into you guys. 'If that beautiful girl gets covered in food, I'm going to laugh my arse off'. Which is exactly what I did, of course. Wow, she was angry. Most angry I think she's been at me since, well, now I suppose. I liked her, though. I liked that she wasn't shy, or quiet, or timid. She's loud and obnoxious and not afraid of anything. Maybe that's why I like her so much. She's a bit like me, but she's her own person and she makes sure I never forget it. Surprising me all the time, you know. It makes me want her even more half the time. The other half of the time, it makes me can't believe I don't have her yet."

There was a long pause as the Marauders continued their walk from Honeydukes to Gladrags Wizardwear.

"That's quite sweet in a 'gag me' type of way."

"Oh, shut up, Prongs."

* * *

"Gorgeous!" Lily gushed, beaming.

"So beautiful!" Alice agreed, nodding fervently.

Dorcas did a little spin on the spot, grinning. "So this is the one, then?" She asked.

"YES!" Lily and Alice squealed, clapping their hands excitedly.

"Okay, excellent. We've got our robes! I'll just take this off and we can get out of here," Dorcas said happily, heading back into the changing room.

She had found an amazing set of dress robes at the back of one of the racks. It was a white, floor length dress with metallic gold and silver designs across it. It had thin straps of metallic gold, a v-neck bodice, and had no back except for an intricate criss-crossing of the metallic gold straps. It fit Dorcas perfectly and she couldn't believe she had found such a beautiful dress.

Dorcas shimmied out of her dress, threw on her school robes and brought her dress to the counter to pay for it. Alice and Lily were clutching their already purchased robes. Lily's dress was a pale gold, floor length gown. It was v-neck and backless, like Dorcas' and looked positively breathtaking on her. Lily had been unsure about it, especially the backless part, but Alice and Dorcas had convinced her.

Alice's dress was a beautiful light blue shade, also floor length. It was simple, with straps and a glittery bodice. She looked stunning in it, and had bought it within the first five minutes of entering the store. **(A.N: To see the girls dresses, go to the link's on my page!)**

Extremely pleased with their purchases, Dorcas accepted the bag containing her new dress in it from the cashier and turned to face her friends. "If someone had told you in first year that we would not only fancy, but be friends with the Marauders, what would you have said?"

The three girls looked at each other for a moment.

"No way!"

* * *

As the boys entered Gladrags, Remus heading to the left to find a pair of simple, black dress robes, James turned to the boys. "If someone had told us in first year that we would fancy those girls, and always be hanging around them, what do you think we'd have said?"

"No way!" The four boys said together. They began laughing, but James stopped quickly.

"I can hear someone else laughing," he said, sending a quizzical look at his friends. James walked around an exceptionally large rack and came face to face with Dorcas, Lily and Alice, all of whom were laughing loudly. They stopped abruptly once they saw James.

"Hi James," Lily said warmly. "We're just buying our dress robes. What are you doing here?"

"Remus needs new dress robes," James answered, sending a wary glance at Dorcas. "We, er, all came with him, but he should only be a moment if you want to walk back together."

"Sounds gr-" Lily began, grinning, but she stopped at glanced at Dorcas, suddenly unsure. Dorcas sighed.

"Sure, let's all walk back together," she said grudgingly. Lily and James beamed at her.

"Great! We will be back here in just a moment," James said, and he bounded off to find the other three boys.

"Look at this progress!" Alice said happily. "Maybe a walk with Sirius is just what you need!"

"Yeah," Dorcas muttered vaguely, "listen, I forgot my, er, wand in the dressing room. Be back in a minute."

Dorcas disappeared between the racks of dress robes. Alice and Lily glanced at one another.

"She's going to run out the back door, isn't she?"

"Oh, yeah."

Lily sighed. "She has _got_ to get over this. She obviously fancies Sirius! I almost think she is just using this fight as an excuse because she is scared to be with him."

Alice nodded. "You know, I've been thinking that since the fight first happened. She just needs him to prove he won't hurt her. We ought to tell him."

"Yeah, I suppose we ought to," Lily sighed. "Sirius is the ladies' man, though. He may already have some idea of what to do."

A few minutes later the boys met up with the girls in front of the store, Remus holding a bag containing his new dress robes.

"Where's Dorcas?" Sirius asked in a would-be casual tone.

"She, er, had to leave quite quickly," Lily said, looking apologetic. Sirius nodded once.

"'Course she did, because she hates me."

"No! Sirius, no she doesn't hate you – " Lily began but Sirius shrugged.

"Don't worry about it, Lily. I'm going to go back in the store for a second, I, er, forgot my wand. Meet you back at the castle."

Before anyone could say another word, Sirius had disappeared back into the store.

"That's the same excuse Dorcas used," Alice noted as the five resigned themselves to heading back to the castle without Sirius or Dorcas.

"They're both not too creative on the spot," Remus agreed, smiling. "They need to get past this, though. It's killing both of them."

"Dorcas will come around, I hope," Lily said desperately. "Sirius just needs to do _something_ to show her he will be around! You guys help him, yeah?"

"Trust me, Lils," James said, walking beside her and restraining with difficulty from putting his arm around her, "Knowing Sirius, I'm certain he's already got a plan."

* * *

Sirius paced back and forth in the shop, ignoring the beady eye of the owner and counting to five hundred, hoping this would give the others enough time to get far enough ahead of him that he could walk back without being seen. As he passed the rack on his left, Sirius noticed a bag on the ground. Peering in, he saw a white gown with gold and silver metallic designs across it.

Sirius gasped. He thought instantly of how gorgeous it would look on Dorcas. Picking it up, Sirius rushed to the cash register and said quickly, "I'd like to buy this dress, please."

The woman glanced at it carefully, and then brushed her wand along it. "I'm sorry, sir, this dress has already been sold," she said, looking apologetic. Sirius groaned.

"To whom?" He asked. The woman swiped a receipt off the top of her pile.

"Dorcas Meadowes," she read off. "Young girl, from Hogwarts. Must have forgotten it here."

Sirius let out a sigh of relief. "She's my…friend. I could bring this up to her, she's always forgetting things."

The lady glanced at Sirius suspiciously. "Alright then, you take it to her. Mind you give it to the right person, now. If I get an owl here saying she's lost her dress, I'll be coming after you."

Sirius nodded. "I'll give it to her ma'am, I promise."

As he left the store, Sirius glanced into the bag at the dress once more. He couldn't wait to see Dorcas in this dress, and couldn't wait to see the smile on her face when he gave it back to her. For the first time in a while, Sirius began to hope once more that he had been given another chance with Dorcas Meadowes.

**A.N: I'm sorry that took so long! I am taking business at university (WHY did I not take arts like I so obviously should have???) so I have been struggling in my courses. I'm in the process of switching into arts, but it's hard to find time to write about my favorite characters when there is Accounting homework to be done! Hope you enjoyed it, I laughed out loud at a few parts (I know, I'm a dork). Ball's next! Review if you're excited for it! Hopefully I'll be back soon ( one week – two TOPS!) love you readers, read it and review it 333 Also, I do realize the dresses are not robes and are more modern than they ought to be in the 1970s. But I can see them in the dresses so PERFECTLY can't you? So forgive me this one flaw, grant me some poetic licence and enjoy the story anyway!**


	20. a christmas of presents

"It's not here, it's seriously not here," Dorcas muttered frantically, racing around her dorm room and searching in every possible nook and cranny.

"Dorcas, is there any chance you left it at the store? You left pretty quickly," Alice suggested, kneeling down and peering under her bed.

"Maybe, I don't – argh! It was the perfect dress," Dorcas pouted, flopping onto her own bed in defeat.

"We can write to the shop owner and see if you left it there," Lily said, patting Dorcas on the back sympathetically as she sat on the bed beside her.

Dorcas nodded glumly. It was the morning after the Hogsmeade trip, and Dorcas still hadn't found her dress. She could have sworn she had taken it with her when she slipped out the back door, but she had been so intent on getting away from Sirius that she couldn't be sure.

There was a sharp knock on the girls' dormitory door, causing all three of them to jump slightly. Alice headed to the door and opened it to reveal Sirius, with his hands behind his back.

"'Lo," Sirius said quietly, "Mind if I talk to you, Dorcas?"

Dorcas crossed her arms, looking at him stonily. Alice and Lily exchanged an awkward glance.

"We're just going to – um – head down to the common room," Lily said hastily, darting up from the bed and joining Alice near the door. "We'll meet you down there in a bit, alright Dorcas?"

Dorcas said nothing, but remained in her motionless position. Lily and Alice took this as a confirmation, and darted down the stairs, closing the door behind them.

Sirius stepped forward and, with a sigh, pulled a large bag from behind his back. Dorcas recognized it at once as a bag from Gladrags, the store she had purchased her dress from. Despite wanting to ignore Sirius, Dorcas wondered what he would be doing with a bag from that store.

"It's your dress," Sirius explained, seeing her confused look. "I –"

"Stole it?" Dorcas asked angrily, uncrossing her arms and standing up. "You're not serious? Why would you take it?!"

Sirius backed up from her, looking annoyed. "Bloody fuck woman, let me finish! _You_ left it in the store, after running out the back door once you knew I was there, and _I_ found it on the ground and, once I found out it was yours, brought it back to the castle for you. So stop jumping down my throat at every possible minute, and take the time to realize I'm actually not a _horrible_ person, like you seem to believe."

Sirius expected Dorcas to scream in his face, and possibly punch him right on the nose. He was surprised, then, when she sat back on the bed, looking embarrassed.

"I – sorry," Dorcas mumbled, picking at a loose thread on the bed sheets.

Sirius paused for a moment, mouth agape. He didn't want to make her angry again, so instead of diving into the apology speech he had prepared, he simply strode over, laid the bag on the bed beside her and said in a voice barely above a whisper, "It'll look beautiful on you."

Dorcas said nothing, but kept her eyes downcast as he stood over her. Sirius reached out to brush her long blonde hair out of her eyes, but seemed to think better of it and lowered his hand. He stood there for another moment, then walked back over to the door, which he pulled open.

Looking over his shoulder at her blonde, bent head, Sirius said softly, "I know you don't want to hear it Dorcas, but I never meant to do anything to hurt you. I'm sorry, really I am."

Before Dorcas could raise her head, let alone say anything else, Sirius had slipped through the doorway, closing the door with a thud behind him.

* * *

A week later and Dorcas and Sirius were still avoiding one another. Dorcas had briefly explained to Lily and Alice that Sirius had found her dress and returned it to her, but she had said nothing else about her conversation with him. The girls and the Marauders still ate their meals together, but the tension was so thick that conversation was rare.

The Hogwarts students going home for the holidays had left the day before, though many of them had chosen to stay at Hogwarts so they could attend the ball. Even with the unusually large amount of students staying at Hogwarts for Christmas, the common room was still rather deserted most of the time and the Great Hall seemed much less crowded than usual.

The evening of December 23rd was the last night that James and Lily had to patrol the corridors until after the holidays. They bade goodnight to Sirius, Remus, Peter and Alice, who were seated around the fire, and exited through the portrait hole together.

"I can't believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve," James said eagerly, bounding down the corridor and grinning at Lily. "I love the holidays!"

Lily grinned back at him, but her smile seemed wistful. "I love them as well, but I feel like our final year at Hogwarts is going by so fast. First term is already over!"

James nodded seriously. "I know. It seems…surreal. I don't want to leave here, but at the same time, I'm excited to see what the future holds, you know?"

Lily beamed at him. "That's exactly how I feel too! I'm more nervous than excited though. I mean, Hogwarts has been our home for the past seven years. I don't know if I will survive without it!"

James let out a booming laugh and for a moment Lily felt stung, sure he was mocking her. When he saw the expression on her face he stopped laughing.

"I'm only laughing because of how crazy that sounds. Lily Evans not surviving. Yeah, right. You could survive anything! You'll have the most successful future out of all of us, of that I am certain," James explained, smiling slightly.

"Wow James, thank you," Lily said, blushing slightly. "But I don't know if I agree. You will be so successful in life: you're smart, charismatic, and easy-going. You won't have a problem. I'm scared I'll be left on my own in the wizarding world, for the first time ever. I don't think I can do it alone," she admitted.

"First of all, let's take a moment of silence due to the fact that you just gave me _three_ compliments. My, this year has changed us all, hasn't it?" James said, stopping to throw her a teasing grin and winking.

Lily shoved him playfully, laughing and exclaiming, "James, I'm serious!"

"I know you are," James said, falling in to stride with her once more. "I only hope you're right when you say I will be successful in life. But Lily, you're wrong about one thing. You'll never be left on your own in the wizarding world. You have Dorcas and Alice, your two best friends for the past _seven_ years. They're not going anywhere; trust me. You also have Remus, and Sirius, and even Peter if you really need him. And you – you have me. I won't ever leave you on your own Lily, ever. You have all of us and we'll be with you every step of the future, so don't ever worry about that, alright?"

Lily glanced up into James' eager, caring eyes and felt her heart do several back flips. For a short moment, she was overcome with the desire to kiss him right then and there. Suppressing the sudden urge, Lily looked down at her feet and nodded.

"Thanks, James. You know just what to say sometimes," she said quietly, smiling up at him.

"I try," he said, grinning.

"I – I'm really glad we're going to the ball together, James," Lily said, surprising herself with her forwardness. "There isn't anyone else I would rather go with."

James glanced down at Lily, a huge grin plastered across his face. "I feel the same way," he replied quietly.

Their hands bumped softly into one another and James, hardly believing his own daring, intertwined his fingers with Lily's as they walked. He peeked at her out of the corner of his eye and saw she look surprised but, he thought, pleased as well.

They finished their rounds with their hands clasped together, and didn't let go until they had reached the Gryffindor portrait hole once more.

* * *

"DECK THE HALLS WITH BOUGHS OF HOLLY, FA LA LA LA LA, LA LA LA LA," Sirius bellowed, standing on a table in the common room and holding a mug of eggnog high above his head.

Many students were crowded around him, laughing and yelling out suggestions for the next Christmas carol they wanted him to sing. Sirius' face was getting redder and redder as he continued to drink eggnog, and his voice seemed to boom louder with every mug.

It was Christmas Eve and most of the Gryffindors who had stayed at Hogwarts for the holidays were gathered in the common room. Many of them were surrounding Sirius, except for the occasional few who were seated in small groups, throwing indulgent smiles Sirius' way but remaining with their friends in scattered areas of the common room.

Peter was standing underneath Sirius, shouting out carols and drinking a large quantity of eggnog himself. James, Remus, Lily, Alice and Dorcas were seated on two loveseats, James, Remus and Lily on one and Dorcas and Alice on another. They were watching Sirius and laughing, while drinking some eggnog themselves.

James had made quite a display of seeming shocked that Lily was drinking alcohol, and wondered aloud whether or not he would have to carry her to his room once more. While six months ago this comment would have merited a slap in the face from Lily, she merely smacked him playfully and promised she would not be anywhere near his bed again. This caused Remus, Dorcas and Alice to snort into their eggnog, and for James to assure them all he had never been more offended in his life.

The spirit of Christmas seemed to emanate throughout the common room, and even Dorcas was having a great time, joking and laughing with her friends and only stealing a few glances at Sirius, who was now singing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" with his own lyrics, as he had never heard the song before.

"KREACHER THE DIRTY HOUSE ELF, HAS A REALLY UGLY NOSE!" Sirius roared to the tune of "Rudolph", laughing and downing the last bit of his eggnog. People immediately surged forward to re-fill his glass, laughing and singing along with him.

"Merlin, that boy can attract a crowd," Alice mused, watching Sirius parade around on the table, beaming cheesily and singing at the top of his lungs. "He could rule the world someday."

"Could, but won't," Remus retorted, chuckling. "He's too damn lazy to do his homework, let alone take the time to rule the world."

The others exploded with laughter, and didn't notice Sirius amble over, bleary-eyed. "What're we laughing at?" He demanded, plopping down on the loveseat between Alice and Dorcas, the latter who instantly stood up and sat in a chair near the loveseat.

Sirius frowned as Dorcas leapt to sit in another chair. "Hates me," Sirius confided in Alice, in what he must have believed was a whisper, but was actually quite a carrying voice. "All 'cause I tried to prove to her that I fancied her and she fancied me. S'not fair, you know."

Dorcas shifted uncomfortably in her chair as her friends' heads swivelled between her and Sirius.

"Now's maybe not the best time to discuss it, Sirius," Alice said, patting his knee sympathetically.

Sirius shook his head and closed his eyes. His mug of eggnog fell to the ground and landed on the rug, but none of them paid it any attention.

"It's never the best time," he sighed, throwing a hand over his face in a dramatic gesture. "She hates me. Always will, you know. And you know somethin' else, I'll never hate her. Never, ever. I just miss her all the time. Won't speak to me. Won't look at me. I miss her, you know?

"Can you help me fix it with her? Just tell me what to do, Alice, and I'll do it. What do I do?" He asked, slurring his words and shaking his head sadly.

Dorcas leapt to her feet, staring at the ground. "Please make sure he gets to bed tonight," she said in a mechanical voice, avoiding everyone's eye. "He'll need a Hangover Potion to make sure he is feeling better tomorrow; it's Christmas after all. I'm off to bed, see you all in the morning. Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas, Dorcas," the group murmured as she turned on her heel and sped up the dormitory stairs.

"Dorcas?" Sirius asked, cracking one eye open. "Is she here? Damn, I was talking about her. She didn't hear me, did she?"

The group exchanged a glance, torn between sympathy and amusement.

"Nope," they chorused, and the girls headed to bed themselves as James, Remus and Peter helped a drunken Sirius up the stairs.

* * *

"Happy Christmas, Dorcas!" Lily hollered, wrenching open Dorcas' bed curtains and beaming at her best friend. "Wake up you lazy lump, we've got presents!"

Dorcas moaned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, sitting up and yawning hugely. Beside her Alice had already started tearing viciously through the wrapping paper on several of her presents.

"I'd rather sleep, can't I open them later?" Dorcas groaned, opening her eyes and squinting against the bright sunlight gleaming in through the open curtain.

"No!" Lily said, sounding scandalised. "We have to open our presents together! Let's get a move on!"

Lily plopped herself back on to her own bed and began pulling presents towards her and ripping the paper off of them. Dorcas sighed in defeat and turned towards her own pile of presents. She spotted one from Lily, one from Alice, a few from her parents and others from relatives. Dorcas grinned as she noticed a badly wrapped package with the signature, "The Marauders". Pulling a present from her parents toward her, she too began tearing open her presents.

"Thanks, Lil," Dorcas said happily, as she unwrapped the beautiful earrings Lily had bought for her. They were silver hoops with a small gold ball dangling in the middle of the hoop, and Dorcas instantly loved them.

"You're welcome," Lily said warmly, smiling. "I bought them to go with your dress, so you have to wear them tonight!"

"I definitely will," Dorcas said, placing the earrings carefully on the table beside her bed. Dorcas turned back to her presents, unwrapping Alice's next, which turned out to be a concert ticket to The Weird Sisters.

"Alice!" Dorcas gasped excitedly, leaping up from her bed. "They're my favourite band! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Alice laughed, turning from her pile to grin at Dorcas. "I knew you'd like it! I bought one for all of us – that's your present from me too, Lils – so the three of us can see them in London this summer!"

"You're amazing, Alice," Dorcas said in awe, while Lily also thanked Alice, laughing at Dorcas' reaction.

"Anytime," Alice chuckled, turning back to her presents. "Thanks for the box of lotions and perfumes, Dorcas! Although I think I could have done without the, er, warming lube," Alice said, laughing.

Dorcas laughed unapologetically. "Well, you never know. I thought it may come in handy with you and Frank," Dorcas winked and Alice laughed again.

Lily rolled her eyes at them. "You two are sex addicts!" She grumbled, turning to her own gift from Dorcas and realizing with horror that she had received the same present. "Dorcas! I do _not_ need nor want warming lube!"

Dorcas and Alice laughed even harder. "Oh Lily, there's loads more stuff in there that you can use, it's full of good stuff! Anyways, you never know, maybe James is a big fan of warming –" Dorcas snickered.

"Shut up," Lily cut across her, throwing a pillow at her friend. Dorcas laughed once more and shrugged. "I swear, I will _never_ be as cavalier about sex as you two are."

Alice shook her head at Lily in mock-disappointment. "Ah, but Miss Evans, as the heart wants what it wants, so does the body."

Lily rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Alice who just giggled. "I've only slept with one boy Lily, and I'm madly in love with him. I would hardly call that being 'cavalier'. Now, Dorcas on the other hand," Alice trailed off, grinning.

Dorcas flipped her long, blonde hair out of her eyes and smirked. "I can't help it, I love sex! Once you try it, Lily, you'll be singing a different tune, I promise."

"There is no way I will be as flippant about it as you," Lily sighed, almost wishing she were more like Dorcas in that sense. "I've held on to being a virgin for so long, losing it is going to be a big deal."

Dorcas nodded. "It's a big deal for everyone, Lily! Remember how much I cared about Daniel Derkwen? He was the first boy I ever slept with and it meant a lot to me."

Lily rolled her eyes again. "You were fifteen and he was your Herbology partner."

Dorcas paused. "Oh, right. Didn't I date him, though?"

"No, you met up with him twice on the Astronomy tower," Lily said.

"Surely more than twice?" Dorcas asked, squinting as she tried to remember.

"No, it was twice."

"Maybe more times I never told you about?"

"No, you specifically stopped seeing him because 'he creeped you out' and 'thought you guys were going to date because you'd lost your virginity to each other'."

"Well, I fancied him, at least."

"No, you were trying to make Billy Fillwend jealous because you fancied him, but he had a girlfriend."

"Huh," Dorcas said thoughtfully. "Well, regardless, it meant a lot to me at the time."

"No, it didn't," Lily pointed out.

Dorcas frowned. "Alright, no, it didn't. But I have _four_ brothers, Lily, and they have influenced me so much. I never really thought sex was a big deal because my brothers were _always _talking about the girls they had slept with as if it _wasn't_ a big deal. I have slept with guys I have really cared about, and it has meant a lot to me, but my first time was honestly more about losing my virginity at the same age as Eric did," Dorcas grinned. "I could _not_ let my brothers win!"

Alice laughed. "You beat all of them except Eric! Cadby was eighteen when he finally had sex!"

Dorcas grinned. "I know. He was so mad at me when I first had sex; he tried to make an Unbreakable Vow with me that I would never have sex again. Merlin I miss those boys," Dorcas smiled wistfully.

"I can't believe I never met them, they were all at Hogwarts while we were here for Merlin's sake!" Lily said. "How old are they all now?"

"Eric is twenty-four, Cadby is twenty-three, Sheldon is twenty-one and Brent is nineteen, almost twenty. You would love them, Lils, they're just like me!" Dorcas listed off, beaming.

Lily shuddered. "I don't know if I could handle it," she muttered, causing Dorcas and Alice to laugh. "I suppose you're right though, Dorcas. You are so close with the four of them and they were pretty well known for being rampaging man whores in their day at Hogwarts."

Alice and Dorcas burst out laughing. "It's true," Dorcas shrugged. "They corrupted me, it's not my fault! I'm not _half_ as bad as them. Although Sheldon was never as bad as the rest of us, to be fair."

Lily grinned. "Sheldon's the blonde one, right?"

Dorcas shook her head at her friend, laughing. "Were _all_ blonde, Lils."

"But he's the one with the really light blonde hair, and the green eyes? The one who's picking you up in that photograph?" Lily pressed, pointing at the picture beside Dorcas' bed of her and her family.

Dorcas glanced at the picture and nodded. "Yep, that's Sheldon. Lucky bastard, getting those eyes. All the rest of us got stuck with dad's doe eye brown."

Lily squealed. "Sheldon is _gorgeous_. And you say he's not like the rest of you? Well, that's an added bonus. Can I meet him?"

Dorcas laughed, throwing her pillow at Lily. "Lily! That's my _brother_. Anyway, you have James now, don't you?" Dorcas batted her eyelashes innocently at Lily, beaming.

Lily scowled. "Oh shush, Dorcas. Don't dish it out if you can't take it, and we all know I have about a million Sirius related comments I can throw at you if you don't stop teasing me about James."

"Oh do you? I'd like to hear one," Dorcas laughed breezily, ignoring the butterflies erupting in her stomach.

"Well, we could start with the fact that he has given you a present," Lily said pointing to a small wrapped package at the end of Dorcas' bed. Dorcas whipped her head around and saw with a rush of unfamiliar emotion that Sirius had in fact gotten her a present.

"Or we could go back to your earlier statement: "I have slept with guys I really cared about." Twenty galleons says we could include Sirius in that," Lily said, smiling to show she was half-teasing her friend.

Dorcas glared at her friend. "Fine, point made. No James jokes, no Sirius jokes. Back to the presents!" She cried, snatching up her present from the Marauders and tearing the wrapping paper off. A note fell from the paper and Dorcas picked it up.

"Dearest Dorcas, Happy Christmas! Love, James, Remus and Peter (Sirius sent you his own present, the git)."

Dorcas laughed at the card and passed it to Lily and Alice, who both snorted with laughter. Looking back at the package, Dorcas pulled the last of the wrapping paper off to reveal a large sneakoscope. Attached to the sneakoscope was another note that said, "Ask Lily if she fancies me and let me know if it lights up when she says no – James. Don't listen to James, use it on Sirius, it drives him mad when he gets caught lying – Remus. Don't listen to either of them, Happy Christmas – Peter."

Dorcas burst out laughing once more and passed the second note to the girls, both of whom also laughed, shaking their heads at the foolishness of the boys.

"What did they get you?" Dorcas asked, turning to Alice and Lily.

Lily had gotten a box of assorted Honeydukes chocolates from the Marauders, with a note saying "Happy Christmas Lily. James told us you liked chocolate and not to get you anything more so his present looks better in comparison – Remus, Sirius, Peter."

Alice had gotten a giant package of "Marauder's Favourites" as the front of the package said, which turned out to be a huge supply of the Marauder's favourite Zonko's products and Honeydukes chocolate and sweets. Her card said, "See you at the ball tonight – make or break! Love, the Marauders", but inside the package was another card that said, "Thanks for the advice about the girls, we owe you forever! – James and Sirius." Alice smiled and slipped the note from James and Sirius under a particularly large candy bar so her friends would not notice it.

"Those boys," Alice said, shaking her head and grinning. "Well, Dorcas, open that present from Sirius now!"

"I will," Dorcas grumbled. Glancing over at Lily, however, her eyes instantly lit up. "Why, Miss Evans, who is that package from?!"

Lily blushed. "James," she admitted, staring at the present in her hands.

Dorcas grinned, then turned to Alice. "Grab your present from Frank, then, and let's open them all together. No way am I opening this without support!"

"Deal," Alice said, grabbing a long package from the bottom of her bed as Lily nodded hesitantly and began unwrapping the present from James.

Dorcas turned to the small package from Sirius and, with a steadying breath, began to rip the wrapping paper off of the package. From either side she could hear Alice and Lily unwrapping their own presents. As the final piece of wrapping paper fell away, Dorcas picked up a blue, velvet box and, silently chastising herself for feeling so anxious, she gently opened the box.

If the other girls heard her gasp they made no mention of it. Carefully, Dorcas pulled out a beautiful ring with a gold band and a glistening oval ruby setting. It was simple, yet stunning and Dorcas instantly loved it. She slipped it on to her finger and it instantly moulded itself to her finger, fitting perfectly. Dorcas waved her hand in front of her face, smiling as the ruby glistened in the sunlight shining from the window. As much as she loved it, however, Dorcas wasn't sure why on earth Sirius was giving her a _ring_.

As Dorcas placed the box back on to her bed she noticed a note attached to the packaging. Picking it up carefully, Dorcas read the note from Sirius. "First: I know I've said it before, but I'm sorry for everything, and I hope you will eventually forgive me. Second: this was my great grandmothers. She was a right old bitch, but I know it will look amazing on you, better than it ever did on my ancestors. And third: this is _not_ a diamond ring, it's a ruby ring. Even I'm not that daft, so stop panicking like I know you were. Happy Christmas – Sirius." Dorcas laughed at that, inwardly marvelling at how well Sirius knew her sometimes.

"Oh my god!" Lily shrieked, interrupting Dorcas' musings. Dorcas glanced over at her friend to find Lily holding a beautiful gold necklace with a small heart locket dangling from the chain. Lily was gazing at the locket, which had her initials carved into it, her mouth agape.

"Wow! James certainly did well," Dorcas said, grinning. "It's gorgeous! Go on, try it on Lily!"

Lily turned her shocked stare to Dorcas. "How bloody much do you think this cost? It's ridiculous that he would spend so much on me, I mean, we aren't even dating! I didn't even buy him anything other than that gift we all pitched in on! I can't -!" Lily rambled, her voice rising in pitch with each word. Dorcas held up a hand to silence her friend and Lily instantly stopped speaking.

"Lils, he just wanted to do something nice. Don't get upset, it was a really thoughtful gift and you'll only upset James if you make a big deal over the price. Anyway, it's beautiful, don't you think?"

"Yes, you're right, it's wonderful," Lily said, her eyes trained on Dorcas' hand. "Almost as wonderful as that ring you're wearing on your finger, which I could have sworn wasn't there five minutes ago," Lily trailed off, her eyes glinting.

"Nope, wasn't wearing it five minutes ago," Dorcas replied vaguely, immediately putting her hand down and trying not to blush.

Lily beamed. "Sirius gave you a _ring_?!" She squealed, bounding off her own bed and hopping on to Dorcas', grabbing her hand and examining the ring.

"You're kidding?!" Alice shouted, scrambling off her bed and also jumping on to Dorcas'. Dorcas rolled her eyes at her friend and lifted her hand so they could both examine the ring.

"Yeah, he got me a bloody _family heirloom_ ring. I swear, he is the definition of dramatic."

"Or romantic," Lily said, grinning. "It's gorgeous, of course. I can't believe he did that, it's really quite – "

"Sweet," Alice finished, Lily nodding beside her. Dorcas shifted uncomfortably.

"It's not going to make me forget everything that's happened," Dorcas reminded her friends.

Lily opened her mouth to respond to that, but Alice shot her a warning look and blurted out, "look what Frank got me, guys!"

Dorcas pretended to be just as excited as both Lily and Alice as they marvelled over Frank's gift, which turned out to be a fully paid trip across Europe for the entire month of August. As Alice listed off the places Frank had promised in his letter they would be traveling to, Dorcas found herself staring at the ruby ring on her finger, and trying to remember why she was so mad at Sirius. Sure, he had overheard her pouring her heart out about how she really felt, but if she was honest with herself, Dorcas knew he hadn't meant to. For a reason completely unbeknownst to her, Dorcas found it easier to be angry at Sirius then to try and figure out what she really wanted from him.

"Dorcas?" Lily asked tentatively. Dorcas whipped her head up to find her two friends looking at her in mild concern. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Oh, yes, of course, I'm fine," Dorcas jabbered, "Just excited, I mean it's Christmas after all! Let's open the rest of our presents and then head down to the common room, yeah?"

Lily and Alice agreed and the three of them finished opening their presents in silence, each of them wrapped up in thoughts of certain boys.

* * *

"Wake up Padfoot, wake up!" James hollered, ripping the curtains open around Sirius' bed and beaming at his best friend. "It's your second favourite holiday! Get up so we can enjoy it with you!"

Sirius cracked one eye open and stared beadily at James. "Enjoy it with me?"

"Okay, fine, Moony won't let us open our presents until everyone is awake. So stop being selfish and get up!"

Sirius groaned and pulled a pillow over his head. "Fine, chuck me a present and I'll open it," he mumbled. James grinned and began sifting through the presents at the end of Sirius' bed.

"Second favourite holiday?" Remus questioned from his bed, glancing up at James. James nodded.

"Yeah, remember when Sirius declared his own birthday a holiday and wrote down the "traditions"? One of them was that he got to pick any girl of his choice who had to sleep with him! He tried to enforce it with that Ravenclaw girl, remember?" James said, shaking his head at Sirius, who pushed the pillow away and sat up smirking.

"Oh Merlin, how could I forget? You really are quite self-absorbed Sirius," Remus said, shaking his head while Peter laughed sleepily from behind him.

Sirius shrugged unapologetically and instantly dived into his presents. The other three boys exchanged brief glanced and began attacking their own piles of gifts as well.

Twenty minutes later the boys had opened every present on their beds, barely speaking the entire time. Sirius stretched his arms above his head, yawning hugely and said, "Pretty good haul this year, although I could have done without _The Daily Prophet_ from mum; at least, I think it was mum, she sent it "To: Blood Traitor" so I'm thinking that's her."

"She only sent you the paper? Well that's not as bad as last year, when she sent a Howler," James said reasonably, taking off the new Quidditch gloves Sirius had bought him, and waving them in thanks.

"It's pretty bad," Sirius said grimly, tossing the paper to James. "Nineteen murders in the past two weeks. It goes without saying it was Voldemort and his Death Eaters, and mum here was nice enough to underline the names of people I know. No one from Hogwarts, don't worry, but it's still shockingly morbid of her to take that much time out of her day to accomplish this. Charming witch."

James stared at the paper, horrified. "Nineteen?! Blimey, that's frightening that is. This thing with Voldemort has officially become a war, but no one wants to call it that."

Sirius nodded. "I know, mate, I know. Anyway, enough about that bitch, how were your presents?"

James shrugged. "Can't complain. I got loads of awesome stuff – thanks for the invisible ink Wormy, that will definitely come in handy when we're planning pranks in class! And Moony, thanks for the book that I "accidentally" tossed on the ground when I realized what it was," James said, grinning.

Remus rolled his eyes. "It's called '100 ways to charm a witch' and I thought it would come in handy for you and Sirius considering your recent – er – girl problems."

"Blimey, that's what that was? I thought Wormtail just wrapped one of my textbooks as a joke, I tossed it aside. Fetch it for me, will you Moony? Oh, and thanks, real nice gift," Sirius added as Remus scowled at him.

"Merlin knows the two of you will need all the help you can get," Remus grumbled as he passed James and Sirius their discarded books. "Ready for tonight, are you?"

"Pretty much," Sirius said vaguely, flicking through the book.

"Please, be more vague," Peter sniggered, helping himself to a piece of chocolate he had gotten from Remus.

"Well, after a lot of thought," Sirius started, throwing a glare towards James, who instantly turned his laugh into a hacking cough, "I decided to go with the old Sirius Black standby: wing it."

"You're going to put all of your hopes of winning over Dorcas on you 'winging it'?" Remus asked faintly. Sirius nodded. "You're unbelievable."

"Thanks," Sirius said, smiling. Remus shook his head and muttered, "unbelievable", once more.

"What about you, Prongs?" Peter asked. "What are you going to do about Lily?"

"I haven't thought about it, really," James said airily, picking at a loose thread on his sheets. Remus, Sirius and Peter glanced at one another, and then instantly burst out laughing.

"James, come on, stop messing with us," Sirius chortled. James shrugged.

"I'm not, honestly. Every time I try to plan out exactly what is going to happen between Lily and I it becomes a complete disaster. So this time, I-I guess I've gone with the old Sirius Black standby: wing it."

Sirius grinned at James and mimed raising a glass to him. "Cheers, mate," he said, smirking cheekily. James grinned back.

"I say it again: unbelievable," Remus sighed.

"Oh Moony, relax. We've got this! Worse comes to worse, well, we're right back where we started," Sirius said.

"Hmm, maybe a few steps back in your case. Or were you too drunk last night to remember drunkenly discussing how you wanted to make things right with Dorcas while she was standing _right there_," James said, trying to hide a smile.

Sirius whipped his head around to stare horror-struck at James. "Blimey, she was there when I said that?"

"Yep. Heard every word. She jumped right up and went to bed though," Peter said, tossing another large bit of chocolate into his mouth.

Sirius closed his eyes for a brief moment, and then opened them. "Well, I can't do much worse than I am at this point, can I? Might as well give this a try," he sighed and picked up the book Remus had given him, opening it to the first page.

"Sirius, don't be extreme!" James cried, earning a glare from Remus. "What did you get her for Christmas? Maybe you've made up for your awkward, embarrassing, drunken…thing last night."

Sirius glowered at James. "It's none of your business what I got her, thank you very much."

"What? Come on, just tell me. Was it lame? I swear I won't laugh if it was lame," James said, laughing despite his promise.

"Not saying anything."

"Padfoot, you're joking, right? You know you're only driving me mad by not saying anything!"

"I know."

"Come on, just give me a hint then?"

"Trying to read here, James."

"Sirius! You saw what I got Lily, so it's only fair I get to see what you got Dorcas."

"Go shower, Prongs, you're interrupting my reading time and if you hope to have any sort of chance with Lily you should probably start getting ready for the ball now."

"I'll shower when I'm good and ready! Tell me what you got Dorcas!"

"You must have misunderstood me for the past few minutes. What I've been trying to say, politely of course, is: fuck off, James."

"I hate you, Pads, I really do."

"I know. Save me a dance tonight?"

"Possibly."

**A.N : There are no words to excuse this long absence. Life got in the way, but lucky for you all the excitement in my life is now over and I have loads of time for fanfiction! Yay! The ball was, alas, not in this one, but I've already written it so it will ACTUALLY be up quite soon. Promise, promise. Happy early Christmas, hope you all enjoy your gift of a new chapter : ) **


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